Language, consciousness, and artificial intelligence in contemporary debates

• Název práce v češtině: Jazyk, vědomí a umělá inteligence v současných odborných debatách
• Název v anglickém jazyce: Language, consciousness, and artificial intelligence in contemporary debates
• Akademický rok vypsání: 2023/2024
• Typ práce: bakalářská práce
• Jazyk práce: angličtina
• Ústav: Katedra filosofie (24-KF)
• Vedoucí / školitel: Mgr. Jakub Marek, Ph.D.
• Řešitel: skrytý - zadáno a potvrzeno stud. odd.
• Datum přihlášení: 02.04.2024
• Datum zadání: 02.04.2024
• Datum potvrzení stud. oddělením: 02.04.2024

Zásady pro vypracování

Thesis Outline:

This thesis investigates the complex relationship between language and the potential limitations of achieving consciousness within artificial intelligence (AI) systems. The central question is whether replicating human-like linguistic processes is sufficient for AI to achieve a conscious state. The study will examine language as a fundamental component of human thought and explore how it shapes our understanding of the world.

The theoretical foundation of this thesis will cover three key areas. Firstly, it will investigate the philosophical nature of consciousness, defining relevant terms and examining debates about subjective experience, self-awareness, and qualia. Secondly, the thesis will explore the philosophy of language, analyzing theories on how language shapes our thinking and perception. Thirdly, a survey of AI approaches will be conducted, focusing on language-related capabilities across different paradigms such as symbolic AI, machine learning, and connectionist models.

The analytical part of the thesis will critically examine several aspects of AI and language. Firstly, it will assess AI systems' ability to interpret and produce language. Second, the thesis will examine whether AI systems can genuinely grasp the meaning or whether they primarily manipulate symbols and follow patterns. Finally, the thesis will consider whether consciousness transcends the expressive capabilities of language itself, potentially revealing limitations for AI systems bound to linguistic processing.

The conclusion will synthesize these analytical findings, offering insights into whether language abilities serve as indicators of consciousness within AI or reveal fundamental limitations in achieving a state of true understanding. The thesis will also consider whether future advancements in AI have the potential to overcome these linguistic limitations or whether consciousness remains dependent on factors that extend beyond mere language processing.

Seznam odborné literatury

References:

Bostrom, N. (2003). Are you living in a computer simulation? Philosophical Quarterly, 53(211), 243–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9213.00309

Clark, A. (2002a). That special something: Dennett on the making of minds and selves. Psyche, 8(10). [If no journal volume/issue available, omit]

Copeland, B. J. (Ed.). (2004). The essential Turing: Seminal writings in computing, logic, philosophy, artificial intelligence, and artificial life plus the secrets of Enigma. Oxford University Press.

Dennett, D. C. (2005). Sweet dreams: Philosophical obstacles to a science of consciousness. MIT Press.

Dreyfus, H. L. (1992). What computers still can’t do: a critique of artificial reason. MIT Press.

Fodor, J. A. (1987). Psychosemantics: The Problem of meaning in the philosophy of mind. MIT Press.

Fodor, J. A. (2008). LOT 2: The language of thought revisited. Oxford University Press.

Graziano, M. (2013). Consciousness and the social brain. Oxford University Press.

Koch, C. (2012). The astonishing hypothesis: The scientific search for the soul. Sterling.

Kurzweil, R. (2005). The singularity is near: When humans transcend biology. Viking.

Margolis, E., Samuels, R., & Stich, S. P. (Eds.). (2012). The handbook of computational mind. MIT Press.

Pinker, S. (1994). The language instinct: How the mind creates language. William Morrow & Company.

Searle, J., Haugeland, J., & Feigenbaum, E. (Eds.). (1996). Views into the Chinese room: New essays on Searle and artificial intelligence. Bradford Books.

Schneider, S. (2019). Artificial you: AI and the future of your mind. Princeton University Press.