MORAVEC'S PARADOX
MORAVEC'S PARADOX
Moravec's paradox is the discovery by artificial intelligence and robotics researchers that, contrary to traditional assumptions, high-level reasoning requires very little computation, but low-level sensorimotor skills require enormous computational resources.
Moravec's paradox principle was articulated by Hans Moravec, Rodney Brooks, Marvin Minsky and others in the 1980s. As Moravec writes, "it is comparatively easy to make computers exhibit adult level performance on intelligence tests or playing checkers, and difficult or impossible to give them the skills of a one-year-old when it comes to perception and mobility".
Impact Of Moravec's Paradox On AI
In the current context, his theory is coming to fruition with leading IT giants like Amazon and Google or Microsoft’s virtual assistants understanding speech and solving queries. Ramkumar Balasubramanian, science associate director at Accenture observed in a post that while it is easier to program a task done by high-end database administrators, it is difficult to replicate the task of a service desk agent. Moravec, who is also an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University, said, “It is comparatively easy to make computers exhibit adult level performance on intelligence tests or playing checkers, and difficult or impossible to give them the skills of a one-year-old when it comes to perception and mobility.”
The recent AI developments have underscored Moravec’s research with AI making staggering progress in narrow applications such as beating reigning champion in Go, self-driving cars, virtual assistants and more. Research from Tractica shows that narrow AI techniques, used to solve specific problems, will dominate AI applications in the next 10 years, accounting for 99.5 percent of AI revenue.
How Moravec’s Paradox Is Relevant Today
While the end goal, achieving artificial general intelligence remains elusive, UK-based economist Dhaval Joshi was cited as saying that Moravec’s paradox will have a big impact on the labour market. The theory can also lead to a scientific challenge, that if the fact that greater computational power can lead to human-level capabilities, robots will match and surpass the capacity of humans as computer-processing power increases.
At a time when processing power is increasing, and researchers are working on smaller and stronger chips that can increase computing power, it is yet to be seen whether this can match human-level accuracy. In terms of robotics development, Moravec’s Paradox gained traction, triggering news headlines that it could lead to widespread adoption of robots which could cause unemployment. From manufacturing to healthcare, caregiving, service industries and even banking, robots are triggering fears about mass unemployment.
Outlook
Today Moravec’s Paradox has become synonymous with automation and unemployment. A Scientific American article authored by Moravec himself, emphasises that fourth-generation universal robots with a human-like 100 million MIPS will be able to abstract and generalise. He further notes that robot intelligence will surpass our human intelligence well before 2050 and will lead to a rise in mass-produced, fully educated robot scientists working alongside humans, thereby increasing efficiency and productivity.
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