The Silicon Valley titans talk a lot about intelligence and super intelligence of AI…but what is intelligence, anyway? My guest, former philosopher professor and now Director at Gartner Philip Walsh argues the SV folks are fundamentally confused about what intelligence is. It’s not, he argues, like horsepower, which can be objectively measured. Instead, whether we ascribe intelligence to something is a matter of what we communally agree to ascribe intelligence to. More specifically, we have to collectively agree on the criteria for intelligence and that’s when it makes sense to say “yeah this thing is intelligent.” But we don’t really have a settled collective agreement and that’s why we sort of want to say “this is not intelligence” at the same time we say, “How is this thing so smart?!” I think this is a crucial discussion for anyone who wants to think deeply about what to make of our new quasi/proto/faux intelligent companions.
Philip Walsh is a Director Analyst in Gartner's Software Engineering Practice. His focus is centered on the the impact of AI on software engineering, specifically: Developer productivity and developer experience; Change management and upskilling; Workflow and process transformation and the evolution of the software engineering role; The AI Code Assistant market. Phil has a PhD in philosophy and was a professor prior to joining Gartner.
Website: https://www.gartner.com/
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