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Artificial Intelligence - alive and kicking
But it's not brains in boxes quite yet

By Tim Ferguson

Published: Thursday 10 July 2008

Artificial intelligence technology (AI) is being used all around us but don't expect any philosophical discussions with your hoover quite yet.

"People think of AI and they think of brains in boxes or Terminator - kind of death destroying robots - and actually of course we haven't built those systems and there isn't a brain in a box somewhere worrying about its self existence," head of AI at Southampton University, professor Nigel Shadbolt, told silicon.com.

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"What AI's done by trying to set itself lofty goals about understanding how to build intelligent software or flexible software, it's produced along the way tonnes of methods and insights that are now routinely deployed everywhere."

These include applications such as engine management systems in cars which use elements of AI to react as road conditions change. The technology is also seen in voice recognition tech and vision processing software.

Shadbolt explained: "What AI is much more about is micro intelligence - it's lots of little places where programs are popping up with a very limited capability but in its own area it's pretty smart."

These include shopping robots, auction robots and systems such as Amazon.com's Recommend assistant.

"There's all of these little programs that give you the impression of thinking 'oh that's pretty smart - how does it know my taste or preference?'. It's using a bit of AI technology and presenting it in a useful way," Shadbolt added.

Shadbolt was also keen to point out how the internet has created a collective intelligence.

He said: "What we're seeing with the web is the way in which it can bring those things that computers are good at in co-ordination with what people are good at. You use people's innate intelligence and ability, you connect them up on planetary scale and you've got a new kind of assisted intelligence. It isn't an AI because it's not in any way self aware - but it's a phenomenal, powerful thing."

Although there are elements of AI technology in robots and unmanned drones used by the military in places like Afghanistan, Shadbolt said: "They are basically the lower level stuff and we've become pretty good at that. But in truth building humanoid intelligence is a millennia long enterprise in my view."

He said robots may soon be seen in the home but "they won't be having debates with you about philosophy or they won't be worrying about their own self existence".

Shadbolt feels the future of AI is bright: "People still come into AI - that's the great thing. The next generation want to build the next robot or the next general purpose intelligence and along the way they'll push the envelope a bit more."