The following book review presents another view (and saves me a helluva
lot of typing!).
Brian McAndrews
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Power and Human Reason
by Joseph Weizenbaum
San Francisco, CA: W. H. Freeman
1976
REVIEWED BY: Amy Stout
November 1996
Joseph Weizenbaum, a professor of computer science at MIT, has participated
in the
development of Artificial Intelligence since its conception in the late
1950's. His most famous
accomplishments are SLIP, a list-processing language, and ELIZA, a
natural-language
processing system. Computer Power and Human Reason is a collection of
essays discussing the
technical roots of computer systems, and addressing some philosophical
questions inspired by
mankind's entrance into the world of machines.
Perhaps the most curious thing about Mr. Weizenbaum's book is its candid
ambivalence towards
computer technology. From a man who pioneered the use of the computer chip
as a fabulously
powerful tool, it is strange to hear doubt and questioning about the
purposes of his research, and
the validity of its results. Mr. Weizenbaum says his book is an explanation
of a philosophical
problem that presented itself when he created ELIZA, the natural-language
processing system
that imitated a Rogerian psychologist and communicated in a way that
practically sounded
human. He compares his philosophical crisis to a problem encountered by
Michael Polanyi,
professor of physical chemistry at the Victoria University of Manchester.
Polanyi was thrown
into an intellectual muddle after Nicolai Bukharin, theoretician of the
Russian Communist Party,
asserted that socialism would eliminate the need for pure science, and only
practical matters
would be addressed by the enlightened communist scientists of the future.
To Polanyi,
disregarding pure science would enslave man to the need to create only for
the sake of production
and efficiency, and would destroy any opportunity for free thought. Polanyi
feared that
Bukharin's prediction would inspire a solely mechanistic view of man.
Weizenbaum had a
similar experience shortly after offering ELIZA to the scientific community.
Computer Power and Human Reason is Weizenbaum's exploration of his own
misgivings about
technology and Artificial Intelligence. It is more philosophical than
technical, but offers a few
detailed chapters that provide a foundation for the person who is not a
computer scientist.
Weizenbaum created ELIZA in order to demonstrate natural-language
processing in computer
systems. Though ELIZA was capable of carrying on a human-like conversation,
Weizenbaum
never intended for ELIZA to be a substitute for human interaction. He was
appalled when
psychiatrists suggested that the program might be an acceptable substitute
for human therapy.
Even Weizenbaum's own secretary, who was intimately aware that ELIZA was a
machine,
conversed with the computer on a number of personal matters. Horrified,
Weizenbaum began
work on the philosophical problem presented by the mechanization of human
characteristics and
talents.
>From the beginning of the book, Weizenbaum insists that science is only one
approach to
understanding the universe. At one time, art and literature were considered
essential tools of
making sense of mankind's place in the world. Now, science is the only
legitimate method of
understanding, (a mistake made by Bacon when he equated rationality with
equality), and art has
been relegated to the ignoble role of entertainment. We are obsessed with
scientific procedure and
thoughts, insists Weizenbaum, and he adds, "We can count, but we are
rapidly forgetting how to
say what is worth counting and why." (p.16)
The first half of Computer Power and Human Reason is devoted to explaining
the technical side
of computer science. Weizenbaum goes into a lengthy explanation of tools
and their purposes,
and establishes the computer as a modern day arrow--as a tool and an
extension of man's power.
He then explains how a computer works mechanically, examining our notions
of the brilliance of
computers by revealing how clumsy they are, and how awkward the mechanics
of computer
computation. Computers simply operate quickly, he says, but not with much
grace.
In the second half of the book, Weizenbaum looks at common applications of
computer power
such as computer models in psychology, natural-language, and artificial
intelligence. These
chapters are scarcely technical, but address theoretical and philosophical
issues. Chapter eight,
devoted to the subject of artificial intelligence, criticizes the
scientific community (the Artificial
Intelligensia) for blindly pursuing the nebulous path of technological
progress. Weizenbaum
demands that the community consider ethical and moral issues associated
with the development
of machines that can imitate human behavior. The real question for the
Artificial Intelligensia, he
says, is not what computers will be able to do, but what we should allow
them to do.
In chapter ten, entitled "Against the Imperialism of Instrumental Reason,"
Weizenbaum flatly
denies that human intelligence can be formulated by machine-responsive
equations and rules. He
marks the decline of our understanding of human intelligence with the
popularity of the I.Q. test.
The idea that human intelligence is measurable, or a purely linear and
rational faculty, is absurd.
A computer will never be able to imitate the wisdom and emotion displayed
by the human
creature.
What an odd book Joseph Weizenbaum has written! You would think he had been an
instrumental figure in the notorious Manhattan project rather than a beacon
in the discovery of
Artificial Intelligence. Weizenbaum has seen the face of computer power,
but asserts that
humankind is still master of his mind and world. Computer Power and Human
Reason is a
picture of a scientist's inner dialogue; Weizenbaum has a mind clearly
worth investigating.
Computer Power and Human Reason would appeal to either people who are just
beginning to
learn about computers, or who are interested in the philosophical and
ethical questions presented
by intelligent systems.
