If you were already concerned that robots may one day take your job, the latest results from MIT may make difficult reading. An artificial intelligence system called ConceptNet recently took an IQ test designed for children and scored higher than an average four-year-old. After five tests focusing on word reasoning and vocabulary, ConceptNet achieved a total score of 69 while a comparable pre-schooler achieved 50 - and the system is expected to get smarter. An artificial intelligence system called ConceptNet recently took an IQ test designed for children and scored more than an average four-year-old. ConceptNet is an open-source project run by the MIT Common Sense Computing Initiative.

Verbal tasks that have traditionally been difficult for computer systems but are easy for young children are among AI’s “grand challenges”. We present the results of testing the ConceptNet 4 system on the verbal part of the standard WPPSI-III IQ test, using simple test-answering algorithms. It is found that the system has the Verbal IQ of an average four-year-old child.