Smart Machines: Out Tireless Helpers

Joan Young Gregg & Joan Russell

Can machines be as intelligent as human beings? There is a lot of discussion these days about artificial-intelligence machines and their relation to human intelligence. Some computer scientists are developing machines that can be programmed to think and act in some ways like human beings. As inventors work on their projects, they are learning more about a computer's capabilities in relation to a human's. One team of experts in California is developing an artificial-intelligence research machine. It will offer services and advice like a thoughtful assistant.

A "smart" machine such as this one would be capable of helping people in a variety of professions. For example, it could work tirelessly to help a doctor identify a person's illness. It might summarize a reporter's news story, help a lawyer fight a court case, and even make up a quiz for an English teacher. Someday doctors, reporters, lawyers, and teachers might want to consult an artificial-intelligence psychologist for advice on their personal problems.

When a team of scientists working in Antarctica wanted to explore the volcano Mount Erebus, they designed a smart machine called Dante to do the job. Dante is a robot. It is over nine feet long, over five feet wide, and weighs almost one thousand pounds. It looks like a giant spider with eight legs that can move in all directions at a speed of six and a half feet a minute. In the center of its body is a pole holding six video cameras, three looking forward and three looking back, to give a 3600 view of an area.

The scientists gave Dante instructions on how to climb down a steep slope. They taught it how to step over rocks and how to avoid dangerous objects in its path. They figured that it would take Dante twenty-four hours to complete its journey seven hundred feet down. Once at the bottom of the volcano, Dante would take temperature readings, measure the composition of the gases, and collect samples of minerals. Filled with the knowledge of how to do everything, Dante seemed ready for its job. Placed at the edge of the volcano, it started down. But after traveling only a few feet, Dante stopped dead. The cable connecting it to its controllers had broken. Even the smartest, most extraordinary robots, like people, can become disabled.

Dante's controllers were disappointed with their experiment, but they didn't give up. They say that they can learn from their failures, and as they get smarter, so will Dante. An improved Dante can then provide them with information never before available about the gases and minerals inside a volcano. The gases and minerals in Mount Erebus may be responsible for the hole in the ozone layer that develops over Antarctica each year. The hole allows increased rays from the sun that can cause cancer. The scientists say that Dante is an important new tool that can help solve some of our environmental problems. They also say that someday more advanced descendants of Dante will be sent to explore the planet Mars.

Some robots of the future may also do ordinary jobs. There may be robot gas-station attendants that can fill a tank without the driver leaving the car. Robot dressmakers will construct a dress to exact measurement while the woman is having a cup of coffee in the dress shop. Perhaps everyone will have a personal robot for the home. Imagine what a robot will do for you!

Can science and technology take us too far by programming intelligence into machines? Some people think there is a danger in this. They say that these machines will take over jobs and leave many people unemployed. Scientists think differently. They say that artificial intelligence will free people from difficult, dangerous, or boring work. Then people can use their abilities and time for more creative occupations. Some people see another kind of danger. They are afraid that intelligent machines or robots will become smarter than humans and turn into evil monsters. Scientists answer this fear simply: People will always be in control of "smart" machines. The prediction is for a good working relationship between human beings and their tireless helpers.