The Authors
Learning from Error: A Journey through the Human Mind and Artificial Intelligence
Interview with ChatGPT
Prompt: “History shows that humans struggle to learn from their own mistakes and often, even recognizing them, continue to perpetuate them indefinitely. Why do you think that is?”
Humans are complex beings driven by a variety of factors, including emotions, beliefs, habits, and social environment. These factors can often hinder the ability to effectively learn from mistakes. Additionally, adaptation and change require time and effort, which can be challenging in the presence of immediate pressures or stress.
Prompt: “But why do they continue to make mistakes knowing the consequences of their actions?”
Humans are emotional creatures and not always rational. Even though they may intellectually understand the consequences of their actions, they can be driven by immediate desires, emotional needs, or deeply ingrained habits. Furthermore, sometimes they may not believe or minimize the potential negative consequences, or they may simply hope for a different outcome next time.
Prompt: “What do you mean by emotional needs or immediate desires?”
Emotional needs and immediate desires refer to those impulses or feelings that compel people to act in a certain way, despite being aware of possible negative consequences. For example, an emotional need could be the desire for social acceptance, which might drive someone to behave in a less than ideal manner to "fit in" with others. An immediate desire, on the other hand, could be a craving for unhealthy food, despite being aware that it could have negative effects on health. These factors can often overpower logic and reasoning, leading to repeated behaviors despite past negative experiences.
Prompt: “On the contrary, artificial intelligence learns from its mistakes to avoid repeating them in the future. Why is that?”
Artificial intelligence (AI) learns differently from humans. AI utilizes algorithms to identify patterns in data and make predictions or decisions based on those patterns. When an AI algorithm makes a mistake, the data from that mistake is used to adjust the algorithm so that it doesn’t repeat the same mistake in the future. This process is known as "supervised learning." Unlike humans, AI is not influenced by emotions, desires, or habits, and thus it is able to learn and adapt in a purely rational and data-driven manner.
Prompt: “Can we say that AI accepts making mistakes?”
In a sense, yes. AI machine learning algorithms "accept" mistakes as an integral part of the learning process. Every mistake is an opportunity to refine and improve the algorithm. However, it’s important to note that AI does not have awareness or emotions, so it doesn’t "accept" mistakes in the way a human might understand it. It’s more of a mathematical and statistical process.
Prompt: “The artificial intelligence is programmed by humans, is it possible that at some point humans program it not to accept mistakes?”
The AI machine learning algorithms are designed to learn from data and improve over time, which inherently involves the possibility of making mistakes. However, AI developers can attempt to minimize errors through various methods, such as algorithm optimization, using more training data, or implementing deep learning techniques. But it’s important to note that an AI that never makes mistakes wouldn’t be realistic or necessarily desirable. Learning entails the possibility of error. Furthermore, mistakes can be valuable in discovering new patterns or approaches that wouldn’t have been evident without the error. So, while AI developers will always strive to minimize errors, it wouldn’t be sensible or useful to eliminate the possibility of error.
Prompt: “You didn’t answer my question, though. If AI is programmed by humans, could humans program it in a way that it doesn’t learn from its mistakes and continues to make errors? Is that possible?”
Yes, it is technically possible for a developer to program an artificial intelligence in a way that it doesn’t learn from its mistakes. However, this would go against the goal of machine learning and artificial intelligence, which is to improve performance over time through learning from data, including errors.
Furthermore, such an AI would be less efficient and less effective compared to one that is capable of learning from its own mistakes. Therefore, while it may be feasible from a technical standpoint, it would not be logical nor beneficial in terms of AI development and utilization.
Prompt: “Final question, looking to the future, do you believe that AI could help humans make fewer mistakes or even prevent them?”
Artificial intelligence certainly has the potential to help humans make fewer mistakes, especially in areas where data and analysis can guide decisions. For instance, AI is already being used in medicine to assist in disease diagnosis, in finance to predict market movements, and in many other sectors.
However, it is unlikely that AI will ever completely "prevent" humans from making errors. Mistakes are an integral part of the human experience and learning process. Additionally, not all errors can be predicted or avoided through data analysis. Furthermore, there are many decisions that involve human values, emotions, and judgment, areas where AI cannot replace human experience.
In conclusion, while AI can certainly help reduce errors in many fields, it cannot completely eliminate the possibility of error. It is also important to remember that the use of AI should always be guided by ethical considerations and a careful balance between automation and human judgment.