The Future of Computers Is the Mind of a Toddler

Machines contain the breadth of human knowledge, yet they have the common sense of a newborn. The problem is that computers don't act enough like toddlers. Yann LeCun, director of artificial intelligence research at Facebook, demonstrates this by standing a pen on the table and then holding his phone in front of it. He performs a sleight of hand, and when he picks the phone up--ta-da! It's a trick that'll elicit a gasp from any one-year-old child, but today's cutting-edge artificial intelligence software--and most months-old babies--can't appreciate that the disappearing act isn't normal.