philosophy through science fiction

Knowledge (JTB)

Justified, True, Belief

Truth (correspondence theory)

statement about world is only true if your statement corresponds to a fact

Fallacy (ex. yuck factor)

a failure in reasoning that invalidates your argument

Epistemology

The study of knowledge (how we know what we know)

Rationalism

the theory that reason rather than experience is the foundation of certainty in knowledge

Empiricism

The idea that knowledge comes from sensory experience

Metaphysics

Theory of forms. The explorations of the essence of nature of reality itself. Uses broad concepts to help define reality

Substance Dualism

The notion that your mind and body are two different substances. Your mind is composed only of thoughts and is not restricted by laws of physics.

Materialism (aka physicalism)

Everything, including knowledge and concepts, is based on the physical world and exists in physical space.

Uncanny Valley

As robots appear more humanlike, they become more appealing until they reach the uncanny valley where they're not quite human and we as humans get uncomfortable as we don't know how to respond or treat them. Causes a feeling of unease.

Hyperreality

The inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality.

Transition from reality to hyperreality

1) It is the reflection of a basic reality. 2) It masks and perverts a basic reality. 3) It masks the absence of a basic reality. 4) It bears no relation to any reality whatever. It is its own thing.

Strong AI

Currently doesn't exist. AI that can generate consciousness.

Weak AI

Can only do what it is programed to do.

Descartes' Two Tests

Language Test: ability to use words or signs in order to communicate our thoughts. Action Test: A machine could be really good at one task but only at that one. They are acting not understanding.

Turing Test

If a machine can engage in a conversation with a human without being detected as a machine, it has demonstrated human intelligence.

Chinese Room/ Chess Room

Someone who is locked in a box and being fed questions in Chinese could pass out Chinese symbols which were correct if they followed a program. They would pass the Turing test because they would seem to know Chinese but wouldn't actually understand it .

Gary Marcus' Revised Turing test

Build a program that can infer things from watching a video such as when to laugh or why a certain thing happened.

Elf Ranger Test

AI intelligence should be tested with roleplaying games to prove they are capable of storytelling not just success.

Lovelace Test

Must be an artificial agent designed by a human that originates a program that it wasn't engineered to produce

DARPA Robotics Challenge

aimed to develop semi-autonomous ground robots that could do "complex tasks in dangerous, degraded, human-engineered environments."

Robot (Sense Think Act Paradigm)

Must have sensors, processing ability that emulates some aspects of cognition, and actuators so it can sense, think, and then act.

Robot (etymology/word origin)

originates from 1920 play "Rossum's Universal Robots". Czech word "robota" translates to servitude or slave labor.

Android (etymology/ word origin)

An automaton with a human-like appearance. Derived from "andros" meaning "man" and "eidos" meaning "form"

Allegory of the Cave

Seeing is not always true; Plato uses this to say that we only have a skewed view on the world and do not take into account what we may not know. Used to show the effect of education.

Utility Friendship

Relationship in which the friendship is based on what you can gain from the other person. (i.e. having a wealthy friend to mooch off of)

Pleasure Friendship

Relationship in which the primary function is to derive pleasure.(i.e. a tennis partner)

Aristotelian (virtue) Friendship

Relationship in which two or more people share mutual values and interests that has an enriching effect on the participants virtues and dispositions.

Ethics

Systematic rational search for answers to moral questions (morality=deciding if things are good or bad)

Consequentialism/ Utilitarianism (Principle of Utility)

Whether the action achieves the most pleasure and the least amount of pain decides if it's moral.

Nonconsequentialism/ Deontology Categorical Imperative

Some choices can't be justified by their effects. A lie is still morally wrong even if it leads to someone getting killed.

Just War Theory

War is evil, but justified in face of certain dangers and lawful if conducted appropriately in pursuit of peace. Jus Ad Bellum: is it just? Is there a reason? Is this the last resort? Jus In Bello: how must one act in war? Principle of discrimination concerns who to target and principle of proportionality concerns how much force is appropriate.

IBM Watson

Question answering machine that competed on jeopardy.

IBM Deepblue

Computer that beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997.

DeepMind/AlphaGo

First computer to beat a professional human Go player.

Hanson Robotics' Sophia

Weak AI. Doesn't have qualia. Does have citizenship in Saudi Arabia. Controversial figure.

Boston Dynamics' ATLAS

Robot that can walk and dance n shit.

Vaucanson's Flute Player

Human shaped machine that would play the flute using air.

Vaucansons's Duck

Appeared to eat grain and poop them out. Wouldn't actually digest. Would poop out pre-stored poop.

Droz's The Writer

Human shaped robot that writes text coded on a wheel coded by characters selected one by one.

Epiphenomenalism

The notion that mental properties do not cause anything, but merely accompany physical processes.

Qualia

Special indescribable inner experiences unique to a being. To have qualia is to have consciousness.

Mary in the Black and White Room

A color scientist who sees color for the first time. Debated if she learns anything new from actually seeing color.

Plato

Cave Allegory. Believed you are obligated to figure out the right thing and do it. Metaphysics.

David Gunkel

A right, like the right one has to a piece of property, like a toaster or a computer, can be defined and characterized by one or more of these elements. It can, for instance, be formulated as a claim that the owner has over and against another individual. Or it could be formulated as an exclusive privilege for use and possession that is granted to the owner. Or it could be a combination of the two.

Frank Jackson

Creator of Mary's Room thought experiment

David Chalmers

Believes the fact that we can conceive of philosophical zombies means that physicalism (the idea that consciousness is pure physical) is false.

Gary Marcus

Revised the Turing test

John Searle

Argued against the idea of functionalism with the example of "the Chinese Room," an experiment which proved that although computers are capable of responding to prompts, they are not capable of actually understanding in the way that humans can.

Immanuel Kant

Non-consequentialism and categorical imperative

Jeremy Bentham

Principle of utility( greatest happiness) and consequentialism/ utilitarianism.

Beth Singler

She is known for her digital ethnographic research on the impact of apocalyptic stories on the conception of AI and robots, her comments on the societal implications of AI, as well as her public engagement work.

Alan Turing

English mathematician who conceived of the Turing machine and broke German codes during World War II (1912-1954)

David Levy

Wrote "Love and Sex with Robots"

Kathleen Richardson

Campaign against sex robots. Believes using robots as sex objects would cause a further objectification of women.

John Danaher

Wrote the book "Robot Sex" and answers question about robot sex.

Jean Baudrillard

Hyperreality