I'll start here with some initial groundwork on the nature of intelligence, both human and superhuman. The next section will develop these ideas into a theory of intelligence enhancement, and the third will explore some implications of this theory for AI/SI/IE.
So, here's part I:
Before we can take up the task of examining the prospects for intelligence
enhancement, let alone predict the abilities of an SI, we need some
agreement about what we are talking about. We need to make a few reasonable
assumptions about the nature of mind, and define what we mean by
'intelligence'.
The first assumption we must make is simple, reasonably, and highly
controversial: that sentient minds arise from complex computational
processes implemented by physical matter. They require no nonphysical
'thought substance', no incomprehensible quantum magic, and no supernatural
forces. If this assumption fails, all of the following analysis is
meaningless.
We will also assume, for the sake of argument, that there is no invisible, hard constraint on the maximum complexity of a mind. The only limits to the development of minds with vast amounts of processing power are those of the physical world: the speed of light, the scale of matter, and so forth. We will not approach those limits in this analysis.
As for the nature of intelligence, let us remember that we are more concerned here with external effects than subjective experience. It does not matter whether a particular entity is 'really' sentient, or 'really' intelligent in some abstract, intangible sense. Instead, what we care about is what the entity is capable of doing - what kinds of problems can it solve, and how well?
What, then, defines 'human-equivalent' intelligence? Humans normally have a certain minimal level of competence at solving a wide variety of problems, from sensory processing to social interaction to planning and logical thought. However, we do not declare someone who is deficient in one problem domain to be sub-human. In fact, we often do not consider even large impairments to indicate low intelligence - witness the stereotype of the technically brilliant but socially inept genius.
Note, however, that there is no requirement that even an SI possess normal
human ability in every possible problem domain. One could imagine an
'idiot-savant' entity with high levels of competence in some areas, and
little or no ability in others, just as occurs in humans.
<to be continued>
Billy Brown, MCSE+I
bbrown@conemsco.com