How it Relates to Class

Oracle & Minds and Machines

Is Oracle intelligent?

Oracle is able to navigate a map, avoid obstacles, shoot wumpuses and more, making it difficult to say that it is completely unintelligent. However, playing this game is all it knows how to do – throw him something a tiny bit different and he would be completely useless.

I think Oracle is indeed intelligent, just not in the same way as humans or animals. It’s intelligence comes from the logic programmed into him, so it lacks things like emotional intelligence or the ability to learn.

Is Oracle conscious?

The answer to that question is a definite no.

Oracle takes inputs and gives outputs based on a set of instructions given to him by us. In no way is it able to think, feel or adapt on its own. In fact, what it is doing is no different from a mathematical function – and you don’t see people calling that conscious often.

Since Oracle is not Conscious, I don't think it has a mind either. A mind would imply that it's able to think on its own, which it obviously cannot.

How do we feel about AI tech after this project?

This project made us aware of how difficult to hard code logic into an AI, so we think this method of making AI aren’t really feasible due to how much more complicated real-world problems are.

However, AIs that are capable of learning on their own remains as a viable option, since the programmer won’t be able to code the logic himself.