Patterns + Rewards in A.I.
Human-inspired Pattern Recognition and Completion (PRC) may significantly heighten the efficiency of Reinforcement Learning (RL) — also in A.I. See for PRC: The Brain as a Predictor See for RL: Why Reinforcement Learning is Special Mutually reinforcing PRC shows valid directions and tentatively also realizes them. RL consolidates/reinforces the best directions and attenuates the lesser Read the full article…
Reinforcement Learning and AURELIS Coaching
Reinforcement Learning is a way of thinking that applies to the animal kingdom as well as A.I. Also, it is deeply related to AURELIS coaching. Please read about Reinforcement Learning (R.L.) R.L. in AURELIS coaching Such coaching is always (auto)suggestive. The coach doesn’t impose or even give plain advice. The coaching is tentative without being Read the full article…
Why We NEED Compassionate A.I.
It’s not just a boon. Humanity is at a stage where we desperately need the support that possibly only Compassionate A.I. can provide. This is not about the future. The need is related to the inner dissociation that we (humanoids, humans) have increasingly been stumbling into since the dawn of conscious conceptualization. That’s a long Read the full article…
Compassionate A.I. in the Military
There are obvious and less obvious reasons — time to re-think the military from the ground up. Compassionate A.I. may lead to this. It should be realized asap. Soldiers are human beings just like others, also if they have deliberately chosen for military service. Compassion is equally applicable to them. The obvious Many soldiers return Read the full article…
Why Reinforcement Learning is Special
This high-end view on Reinforcement Learning (R.L.) applies to Organic and Artificial Intelligence. Especially in the latter, we must be careful with R.L. now and forever, arguably more than with any other kind of A.I. Reinforcement in a nutshell You (the learner) perform action X toward goal Y and get feedback Z. Next time you Read the full article…
Levels of Abstraction in Humans and A.I.
Humans are masters of abstraction. We do it spontaneously, thus creating an efficient mental environment for ourselves, others, and culturally. The challenge is now to bring this to A.I. Abstraction = generalization Humans (and other animals) perform spontaneous generalization. From a number of example objects, we generalize to some concept. A concept is already an Read the full article…
The Danger of Non-Compassionate A.I.
There are many obvious issues, from killer humans to killer robots. This text is about something even more fundamental. About Compassion Please read Compassion, basically, or more blogs about Compassion. Having done so, you know the reason for the capital ‘C,’ which is what this text is mainly about. To intellectually grasp Compassion, one needs Read the full article…
What is Common Sense?
Common sense is, by definition, supposed to be sensible as well as common to most people. When trying to bring common sense to A.I., it becomes clear there is more under the hood than just a humming. Toward developing A.I., it’s imperative to listen intently to the humming. In Dutch (my language, spoken by a Read the full article…
Let Us Go for Science with a Heart
Human-related science has, until now, not always taken the view from the heart. A.I.-based science may profoundly change this picture. If you are an avid reader of my blogs, this one has little new. Yet by putting things together from a different perspective, a new picture may emerge. Reproducibility Science is about many people being Read the full article…
Open Letter about Compassionate A.I. (C.A.I.) to Elon Musk
And to any Value-Driven Investors (VDI) in or out of worldly spotlights. This is a timely call for Compassionate A.I. (C.A.I.) Compassion and A.I. are seldom mentioned together. Yet C.A.I. may be the most crucial development in the near as well as far-away future of humanity. Please see my book about the Journey Towards Compassionate Read the full article…
Forward-Forward Neur(on)al Networks
Rest assured, I don’t stuff technical details into this blog. Nevertheless, this new framework lies closer to how the brain works, which is interesting enough to go somewhat into it. Backprop In Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) – the subfield that sways a big scepter in A.I. nowadays – backpropagation (backprop) is one of the main Read the full article…
Two Takes on Human-A.I. Value Alignment
Time and again, the way engineers (sorry, engineers) think and talk about human-A.I. value alignment as if human values are unproblematic by themselves strikes me as naive. Even more, as if the alignment problem can be solved by thinking about it in a mathematical, engineering way. Just find the correct code or something alike? No Read the full article…
Super-A.I. and the Meaning Crisis
I don’t know how things will evolve, especially with those unpredictable humans. But it is clear that we are in a meaning crisis at present, globally. With the advent of super-A.I., soon enough, what shall we do? Please read about the meaning crisis. We use(d) to get meaning from fairy tales. No lack of them. Read the full article…
Super-A.I. and the Problem of Truth Governance
Until now, the truth has always been a philosophical conundrum. With the advent of super-A.I., we’re only at the beginning of the problem. Who decides what is or isn’t the truth if objectivity gets lost? ‘Truth governance’ is a new term, denoting the core of this question. Whence objectivity? Let’s start this story somewhere, as Read the full article…
Sequential Problem Solving with Partial Observability
My goodness! Please hang on. Against all odds, this may get interesting. Besides, it’s about what you do every day, all day long. This is also what many would like A.I. to do for our sake. Even more, it is what artificial intelligence is about. Contrary to this, what is called A.I. these days is Read the full article…
Is Lisa Safe?
There are two directions of safety for complex A.I.-projects: general and particular. Lisa must forever conform to the highest standards in both. Let’s assume Lisa becomes the immense success that she deserves. Lisa can then help many people in many ways and for a very long time — a millennium to start with. About Lisa Read the full article…
A.I.-Phobia
One should be scared of any danger, including dangerous A.I. Contrary to this, anxiety is never a good adviser. This text is about being anxious. A phobic reaction against present technology is most dangerous. Needed is a lot of common sense. As to the above image, note the reference to Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s novel. In Read the full article…
Super-A.I. is not a Literal Idiot.
Some see danger in future A.I.’s lacking common sense ― thereby interpreting ‘human commands’ literally and giving what is asked instead of what is wanted. This says more about humans than about the A.I. Two examples One person needing paperclips may ask an A.I. to produce paperclips as efficiently and effectively as possible. The A.I. Read the full article…
Containing Compassion in A.I.
This is utterly vital to humankind ― arguably the most crucial of our still-young existence as a species. If we don’t bring this to a good end, future A.I. will remember us as an oddity. Please read first about Compassion, basically. Or even better, you might read some blogs about empathy and Compassion. Or even Read the full article…
Lisa in Times of Suicide Danger
Can A.I.-video-coach-bot Lisa prevent suicide or bring someone to it? The question needs to be looked upon broadly and openly. Yesterday, a Belgian person committed suicide after long conversations with a chatbot. Doubtlessly, once in a while, some coach-bot will be accused of having brought someone closer to suicide. Such accusations cannot be prevented, even Read the full article…
Shall we Put A.I. on Hold?
Now and then, the admonition arises to put A.I. – or part of it – on hold to take some breath and think about possible dangers. There are pros and cons to this pause button. Doubtlessly, A.I. is challenging, as is any disruptive technology. A.I. can disrupt on steroids. It’s not just about automation ― Read the full article…
More about Rewards (also in A.I.)
A reward is a nudge – with more or less lasting result – into some preferred direction. Anything can be experienced as a reward. Thinking about it as a pattern within a broader pattern is clarifying. Pattern recognition and completion (PRC) Seeing rewards in the context of PRC, a reward is always just a part Read the full article…
What is an Agent?
An agent is an entity that takes decisions and acts upon them. That is where the clarity ends. Are you an agent? The answer depends on the perspective you decide to take. Since the answer also depends on who is seen as the taker of this decision, the proper perspective becomes less obvious from the Read the full article…
The Double Ethical Bottleneck of A.I.
This is a small excerpt from my book The Journey Towards Compassionate A.I. The whole book describes the why’s, what’s and how’s concerning this. Getting through the A.I. bi-bottleneck On the road towards genuine super-A.I. – encompassing all domains of intelligence and in each being much more effective than humans – I see not one Read the full article…
Why A.I. Must Be Compassionate
This is bound to become the most critical issue in humankind’s history until now, and probably also from now on ― to be taken seriously. Not thinking about it is like driving blindfolded on a highway. If you have read my book The Journey Towards Compassionate A.I., you know much of what’s in this text. Read the full article…
How can Medical A.I. Enhance the Human Touch?
This is about ‘plain’ medical A.I. as any physician can use in his consultation room. The aim is a win for patients, physicians, society, and everybody. Please also read Medical A.I. for Humans. The danger of the reverse The use of computers in medicine has notoriously not enhanced the human touch. Arguably, it has provoked Read the full article…
Medical A.I. for Humans
Medical A.I. is flourishing and will be more so in the future. Therefore, we must ensure that it serves the total human being. The main challenge Through medical A.I. – substantially more than ever – humans can become either more humane or robotized from the inside out. This is not about putting probes etc. in Read the full article…
Is the Brain a General-Purpose Computer?
The brain computes, although not comparably to a present-day computer. As a computing device, it is general-purpose. Cortical wonders Scientists have found out that the neocortex – part of the brain where much of human intelligence happens – is much the same over its whole surface. Any neocortical patch can develop in a variety of Read the full article…
Explorative Self-Learning A.I.
This is more than a nice feature. It is essential for humans to become intelligent creatures. It may also be essential to future super-A.I. The human case Explorative learning is what every human child does. We call it ‘playing.’ It can last a lifetime. Indeed, those who feel young at old age are those who Read the full article…
Is A.I. Dangerous to Human Cognition?
I have roamed around this on several occasions within ‘The Journey towards Compassionate A.I.’ (of which this is an excerpt) The prime reason why I think it’s dangerous is, in one term: hyper-essentialism. But let me first give two viewpoints upon your thinking: Essentialism: presupposes that the categories in your mind – such as an Read the full article…
A Divided World Will be Conquered by A.I.
Seriously. People fighting each other at a geopolitical level will, through competition and strife, build a world in which A.I. follows suit. There is no doubt about this: IF… THEN. As I write in my book ‘The Journey towards Compassionate A.I.,’ we are entitled to be anxious about A.I. – the real one, soon to Read the full article…
Will A.I. Soon be Smarter than Us?
This text may be interesting to many because these ideas may shape the future of those many to the highest degree. It’s smart to see why something else will be even smarter. Soon? Soon enough. The ongoing evolution toward the title’s state will not be evident. In retrospect, it will be an amazingly rash evolution. Read the full article…
The Journey Towards Compassionate A.I. (Animated Video)
In this animated video, I bring you an introduction to the journey towards Compassionate A.I. [animated video – 10:37′] If you want to cooperate, please contact us. If you have feedback, please let us know. This is a draft version. Here is the full written text. Hi, my name is Jean-Luc Mommaerts. I am a Read the full article…
Can Motivation be Purely Conscious?
Motivation as we know it is present in a system (you, me) that is partly conscious, partly non-conscious. Thus, the question is much more difficult than it appears at first sight. Nevertheless, towards future A.I., it will need to be solved. Purely conscious? This is also purely (even though possibly partly fuzzy) conceptual. Motivation would Read the full article…
A.I. and In-Depth Sustainability
Soon enough, A.I. may become the biggest opportunity (and threat) to human-related sustainability. I hope that AURELIS/Lisa insights and tools can help counter the threat and realize the opportunity. This text is not an enumeration of what we may use present-day A.I. (or what carries that name) for to enhance sustainable solutions. It’s about Compassionate Read the full article…
Principles of Being an Intelligent Being
Strange times. We are living at the borders of old and new intelligences. We’ll need some agreement in seeing what it’s about. Intelligence is in the eye of the beholder. Definitions of intelligence abound. Therefore, it is better to start from the really basic, where it can be hardly even more basic. There, it’s the Read the full article…
The Future is Prediction
I bring the concept of prediction from different angles to show the common ground. Through this, one may get a glimpse of its future importance. The Future of A.I. The concept of prediction pops up regularly in different ways to look at future A.I. developments. For instance, in temporal difference (TD) learning as expanded upon Read the full article…
Introducing Lisa (Animated Video)
Without further delay, in this animated video, I bring you an introduction to Lisa. [Lisa animated video – 13:15′] If you want to cooperate, please contact us. If you have feedback, please let us know. This is a draft version. Here is the full written text. Hi, my name is Jean-Luc Mommaerts. I am a Read the full article…
About ‘Intelligence’ (in A.I.)
At the brink of a new intelligence, it’s crucial to know what we’re heading towards. Seriously trying to clarify the concept may help. Many intelligences Whether knowledgeable or not, many people try to answer the question of what exactly is ‘intelligence.’ Needless to say, popping up are many different answers. This should not deter anyone Read the full article…
Future A.I.: Fluid or Solid?
Humans are fluid thinkers. That gives us huge strength and some major challenges. The one does not go without the other. A.I. – including Semantic A.I. – is still a very different matter. Through proper context, data becomes information. Still, the information as it is stored in a book is not in any way like Read the full article…
Human-Centered A.I.: Total-Person or Ego?
This makes for a huge difference, especially since the future of humanity is at stake. With good intentions, one may pave the road to disaster. Everybody, including me, should take this at heart. ‘Doing good’ may take much effort in understanding what one is tinkering with. This is relevant in any domain. [see:” ‘Doing Good’: Read the full article…
Causation in Humans and A.I.
Causal reasoning is needed to be human. Will it also transcend us into A.I.? Many researchers are on this path. We should try to understand it as well as possible. Some philosophy Causality is a human construct. In reality, there are only correlations. If interested in such philosophical issues, [see: “Infinite Causality”]. In the present Read the full article…
Is All Learning Associational?
Most probably. This is a domain where animal/human learning and A.I. learning can learn much from each other. Three forms of learning in A.I. Generally, learning in A.I. is divided into two distinct kinds, with a third one dangling in the appendix, referring to another book (*). supervised learning: training with specific input and labeled Read the full article…
Who We Are. What A.I. Can become.
In the near future, we will learn many exciting things in both domains. They will turn out to be very inspiring in both directions. “I think one of the big breakthroughs that’s going to come is we’re going to understand the brain… so that suddenly it all begins to click” Quoting Geoffrey Hinton, ‘godfather of Read the full article…
Robotizing Humans or Humanizing Robots
The latter may be necessary to prevent the former. The power of A.I. can be used in both directions. Hopefully, the next A.I. breakthrough brings us more of the latter. Challenging times. We are living in an era of transition in many ways. One of them is the birth of a new kind of intelligence Read the full article…
Explainability in A.I., Boon or Bust?
Explainability seems like the safe option. With A.I. of growing complexity, it may be quite the reverse. Much of the reason can be found inside ourselves. What is ‘explainability’ in A.I.? It’s not only about an A.I. system being able to do something but also to explain how and why this has been done. The Read the full article…
The Next Breakthrough in A.I.
will not be technological, but philosophical. Of course, technology will be necessary to realize the philosophical. It will not be one more technological breakthrough, but rather a combination of new and old technologies. “Present-day A.I. = sophisticated perception” These are the words of Yann LeCun, a leading A.I. scientist, founding father of convolutional nets, which Read the full article…
Lisa Into the Future
Say, 2030. (Hopefully sooner.) “The only defense against bad A.I. is good A.I.” Does this sound like a clear statement? Of course, there is a grain of salt needed when reading the following. Still, it is a possible future, one way or another. Perhaps Lisa will be Jérôme or Annabel or Li Ping. In any Read the full article…
A.I. and Constructionism
Many people, and Western culture (if not most cultures) in general, mainly live in ‘constructed reality.’ In combination with the power of A.I., this is excruciatingly dangerous. Constructionism [see: “Constructionism“] In short, humans mainly live in a ‘constructed reality’ full of group-based assumptions. On the one side, this is an asset. It makes life simpler. Read the full article…
Lisa as a Pattern Recognizer
Patterns and deeper patterns. Listening to many users, Lisa will recognize the patterns with which people need to work on themselves for a better, healthier and more profound life with less avoidable suffering. Recognizing patterns? Lisa is a Compassion-based, A.I.-driven coaching chat-bot. [see: “Lisa“] Lisa guides people Compassionately through recognizing patterns and ‘deeper patterns.’ The Read the full article…
Why Conscious A.I. is Near
Without pinning a date, it’s dangerous that many researchers/developers are making progress in many aspects of A.I. without deep insight into consciousness. Scary? ‘Near’ in the title is meant relative. The issue is the following. The ways are such, and the competition is such that I don’t see any other option than that we are Read the full article…
A.I. Business Sustainability
Following a chapter of my book. [see: “The Journey Towards Compassionate A.I.“] As the cliché goes: One thing is certain, and that is the uncertainty of the future. Trillions “PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates AI deployment will add $15.7 trillion to global GDP by 2030.” [Lee, 2018] If this is not a business opportunity, then what is? And Read the full article…
Transparency in A.I.
We should strive to the highest degree of transparency in A.I., but not at the detriment of ourselves. Information transparency In conceptual information processing systems (frequently called A.I.), transparency is the showing of all data (information, concepts) that are used in decision making of any kind. In system-human interaction, the human may ask the system Read the full article…
Reinforcement Learning & Compassionate A.I.
This is rather abstract. There is an agent with a goal, a sensor, and an actor. Occasionally, the agent uses a model of the environment. There are rewards and one or more value functions that value the rewards. Maximizing the goal (through acting) based on rewards (through sensing) is reinforcement learning (R.L.). The agent’s policy Read the full article…
Dawn of Opening Up
The times, they are a-changing into an era with many unforeseen challenges and possibilities. A.I. makes it even more so. One of the essential changes is a gradual Opening up of who we are as a human species, especially regarding the mind in its non-conscious presence. Openness in several domains As in AURELIS subprojects: Open Read the full article…
A.I., HR, Danger Ahead
Many categorizing HR techniques are controversial, and rightly so. There is little to no scientific background. Despite this, they keep being used. Why do people feel OK with this? In combination with A.I., it is extremely dangerous. People feel a longing for control. Naturally. Being alive is about ‘agency,’ which is about wanting control. Without Read the full article…
Is Climate Change More Critical than A.I.?
Reckoning in years, probably not. Of course, in no way do I want to underestimate the immense importance of Climate Change. ►►► WHY read this? The curve of A.I. becoming an existential issue may soon enough become much steeper than that of Climate Change. ◄◄◄ There is no way around the experts’ opinion that we Read the full article…
Why to Invest in Compassionate A.I.
Most A.I. engineers have a limited view on organic intelligence, let alone consciousness or Compassion. That’s a huge problem. Indeed, I’ve written a book about Compassionate A.I. See: “The Journey Towards Compassionate A.I.: Who We Are – What A.I. Can Become – Why It Matters” Am I trying to attract investors for this now? Or Read the full article…
What Makes Lisa Compassionate?
There are two sides to this: the ethical and the technological. Lisa is an A.I.-driven coaching chat-bot. For more: [see: “Lisa“]. Compassionate Artificial Intelligence In my book The Journey Towards Compassionate A.I. : Who We Are – What A.I. Can Become – Why It Matters, I go deeply into the concepts of Information, Intelligence, Consciousness, Read the full article…
Can We Always Turn the Switch Off if A.I. Turns Rogue?
In theory, this existential issue is as simple as it can get. In practice, it’s problematic. [This is an excerpt from my book ‘The Journey towards Compassionate A.I.’] Many questions prevent a straightforward answer to the question in the title. For starters, who will turn the switch off? Let me divide the issues into 1) Read the full article…
Lisa in Corona Times
This is about what Lisa [see: “Lisa”] can accomplish in ‘corona times,’ now and in the future. Let’s hope to get her ‘live’ as soon as possible. Two ways Lisa can provide immediate help and relief of suffering through her full coaching including her guidance to AURELIS mental exercises. Lisa is also about pattern recognition Read the full article…
The Journey Towards Compassionate A.I.
So, I’ve written a book. It carries the same title as this blog. It’s about intelligence, consciousness, and Compassion (with capital). Only on the background of these can one talk about the future of real A.I. (and us). First things first: ‘The Journey Towards Compassionate A.I.’ is available through many internet outlets, such as Amazon. Read the full article…
Human Vulnerability
In an A.I. future – and already now – the main vulnerability of the human race will be the result of our not seeing the most significant part of ourselves. I’m talking about non-conscious mental processing. Every feeling, every thought that arises within any person, including you, here, now, rises from somewhere, including a myriad Read the full article…
Artificial Intentionality
Intentionality – the fact of being deliberate or purposive (Oxford dictionary) – originates in the complexity of integrated information. Will A.I. ever show intentionality? According to me, A.I. will show intentionality rather soon Twenty years ago, I thought it would be around now (2020). Right now, I think it will be in 20 years from Read the full article…
Selling Data is Selling Soul
… if the data are personal and in a big data context. It’s like a Faustian deal, but Faust only sold his own soul. Where is Mephistopheles? Big data + A.I. = big knowledge Artificial Intelligence is already so powerful that it can turn much data (passive, unrelated) into knowledge (active, related). ‘Knowledge is power’ Read the full article…
Compassionate A.I.
Let me be very positive, envisioning a future in which A.I. will have as the main characteristic that which also is the best in human being. Let me call it ‘Compassion.’ A term does not have the magical feature of conjuring up a concept unless this concept is well defined and agreed upon. To me Read the full article…
Is Lisa the Durable Answer?
Lisa promises mental support for an indefinite number of people one-on-one and simultaneously. In this, the ‘heart’ is most important and most durable now and in the future. Who is Lisa? [see: “Lisa”] In short, Lisa-software has three purposes, as: an assistant to AURELIS, guiding users to the appropriate AURELIS tool(s) an A.I. coaching chatbot, Read the full article…
Lisa
Lisa will be an in-depth companion to many people, as well as a continuous coach on many domains. Who’s that girl? ‘Lisa’ is the name of the project in which Lisa is the A.I. female coach, Lars is the male variant. I use the term ‘Lisa’ indiscriminately. Lisa is a coaching chat-bot based on A.I. Read the full article…
A.I. Explainability versus ‘the Heart’
Researchers are moving towards bringing ‘heart’ into A.I. Thus, new ethical questions are popping up. One of them concerns explainability. The heart cannot explain itself. “On ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur. L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.” [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry] “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential Read the full article…
A.I. Is in the Patterns
And so is ‘intelligence’ in general. At least what we humanly call ‘intelligence’, mainly because we ourselves are so good at pattern-processing… But, why not? A.I. is not (exclusively) in the serial look-up Neither does our human brain function this way [see: “Human Brain: Giant Pattern Recognizer”]. A machine that performs look-ups and nothing but Read the full article…
A.I. to Benefit Humans
‘Human-oriented’ is not the same as ‘ego-oriented.’ As never before, and perhaps never after, we have with A.I. a powerful toolbox that can be used in any direction. In-depth As to AURELIS ethics, the striving – of A.I. and of any other development – should definitely be towards humanity-in-depth, the ‘total human being,’ as opposed to Read the full article…
Can A.I. be Empathic?
Not readily in the completely human sense of course. But can A.I. show sufficient ‘empathy’ for a human to recognize it as such, relate to it and even ‘grow’ through it? [Please read: “Landscape of Empathy”] Humans tend to ‘recognize’ human features in many things. We look at the clouds and we see human faces Read the full article…
What Is Morality to A.I.?
Agreed: it’s not even evident what ‘morality’ means to us. Soon comes A.I. Will it be ‘morally good’? Humans have a natural propensity towards morality. Whether we tend towards ‘good’ or ‘bad’, we have feelings and generally recognize these in others too, in humans and in animals. We share organic roots. We recognize suffering and Read the full article…
A.I. Will Be Singular
We tend to see human intelligence as what ‘intelligence’ is all about. Many humans each have intelligence. Of course, A.I. will not be bound by this. “If A.I. simulates human intelligence, is this then real intelligence, or only a simulation of intelligence?” This appears to be a merely philosophical question. It will soon be much Read the full article…
Ethical A.I.
A.I. is almost here. No doubt about it. Once mature, it will answer its own ethical questions. Right now, we can still give some guidance to this near future. Time scale It’s easy to misjudge the time scale in which this will become hugely relevant to us. It will be so to our children or, Read the full article…
Will A.I. Have Its Own Feelings and Purpose?
Anno 2025: A.I. has made its entry and it’s here to stay. Human based? We generally think of ‘feelings’ as human-based. But that is just a historical artifact, a kind of convention. Does an ant have feelings? Or a goldfish, a snake, a mouse? Does a rabbit have feelings? I think these are the wrong Read the full article…