Artificial Intelligence: The Transcendence Effect

In last month's column, "Artificial intelligence: I think therefore I am?," I felt I only scratched the surface of what we understand to be artificial intelligence (AI) and, in this month's post, I want to expand my thoughts a little further. So, last month, I suggested that what we understand today as "AI" is nothing more than clever programming and smart technology and, I dare say, that's largely true, despite others suggesting otherwise. We don't have thinking machines, since software engineers have programmed our technology to behave in a pre-determined manner, along with predefined behaviors and outcomes. You may recall, over a bottle of red, I presented the philosophical conjecture provided by René Descartes and the Scottish philosopher George Campbell's work surrounding their rationale regarding the separation of the mind and body.