Is artificial intelligence capable of understanding? An analysis based on philosophical hermeneutics  

作　　者：Jing Wang 

机构地区：[1]Shanxi University,Taiyuan 030006,Shanxi Province,China

出　　处：《Cultures of Science》2021年第3期135-146,共12页科学文化(英文)

摘　　要：From Deep Blue to Alpha Go, the rapid advance of artificial intelligence(AI) in the areas of problem solving and deep learning has lent credence to the prospect that it may one day develop an ability for understanding similar to that of humans or even surpass human intelligence. However, understanding is not a piece of knowledge, a method or an ability. Knowledge can be possessed as an impersonal and public resource. In a certain sense, it can be objectified by a group's understanding, which is characterized by certainty, whereas understanding seems to be in a state of constant transformation and movement. Moreover, a method cannot be separated from the subject and is always subsumed by understanding and interpretation. For a method to be useful, it must be the product of understanding and interpretation. Understanding is not enabled by a method;rather, it is understanding that possesses the method. Finally, understanding cannot be described and defined simply as ability.As an important manifestation of human intelligence, understanding is not an empty shell of method filled by its objects, but an appreciation and extension of the meaning of the objects. Computers are good at dealing with simple and formalized activities that are not associated with a context, but the human activities of understanding are not formalized. From the perspective of philosophical hermeneutics, understanding is filled with elements of reflection and in itself is a form of self-understanding. Furthermore, AI lacks the fore-structure of human understanding. Therefore, whether understanding can be viewed from the perspective of historicity is an important difference between human intelligence and AI, and the missing historical connection of computational programs of AI may be an important reason why it cannot acquire understanding in a real sense.

关 键 词：Artificial intelligence HERMENEUTICS fore-structure UNDERSTANDING 

分 类 号：TP18[自动化与计算机技术—控制理论与控制工程] B089.2[自动化与计算机技术—控制科学与工程]