Wright Summary

In Robert Wright’s article “Can Machines Think? Maybe so, as Deep Blue’s Chess Prowess Suggests” the primary focus is upon the implications of Artificial Intelligence on the social and philosophical realms. Wright examines the ways in which technological advances could affect the world in which we live and perhaps change the way that we view it. He uses the then-recent chess match between Kasparov, a man, and Deep Blue, a computer, to illustrate the impasse that mankind and motherboards currently find themselves at.

The first point that he focuses upon is the effect that technological advancements are having upon humankind’s identity. Wright feels that with every new advance in the area of Artificial Intelligence, AI, man begins to feel less and less unique. The author expresses his views on this very subject when he writes, “The better these seemingly soulless machines get at doing things people do, the more plausible it seems that we could be soulless machines too” (Wright 140). He touches on the idea that even though computers can now be taught to see and react to external stimuli, they do not experience the emotions that go along with these elements. Thus, the idea of what is consciousness is a prominent question throughout the essay.

Wright also provides the viewpoints of several philosophers on this subject, from David Chalmers, who believes that with each leap of technology the mystery of consciousness grows, to Daniel Dennett, who is a proponent of the theory that consciousness is merely the brain. He provides these two opposing viewpoints in order to acquaint the reader with both sides of the argument. In fact, the camps that these men belong to are so different that, “Consciousness is one of those questions so deep that frequently people with different views don’t just fail to convince one another, they fail even to communicate” (Wright 146). The article closes on a theological note by touching upon the morality of creating AI that are sentient beings. Naturally, some feel that it would go against God to do such a thing, as they believe that He alone has the power to create conscious being. However, others believe that such an act would be far from sacrilege and would in fact be carrying out a Heavenly Mandate. Clearly, the only thing that those within the AI discussion can agree upon is that they disagree.