Reading Passage 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.
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The robots are coming - or are they?
What is the current state of play
in Artificial Intefligence?
A Can robots advance so far that they become
the ultimate threat to our existence? Some
scientists say no, and dismiss the very idea of
Artificial Intelligence. The human brain, they
argue, is the most complicated system ever
created, and any machine designed to reproduce
human thought is bound to fail. Physicist
Roger Penrose of Oxford University and others
believe tKat machines are physically incapable
of human thought. Colin McGinn of Rutgers
University backs this up when he says that
Artificial lntelligence 'is like sheep trying to do
complicated psychoanalysis. They just don't have
the conceptual equipment they need in their
limited brains'. C Jn the 1950s and 1960s great progress was
made, but the shortcomings of these prototype
13 Artificial Intelligence, or Al, is different
robots soon became clear. They were huge
from most technologies in that scientists still
and took hours to navigate across a room.
understand very little about how intelligence
Meanwhile, a fruit fly, with a brain containing
works. Physicists have a good understanding
only a fraction of the computing power, can
of Newtonian mechanics and the quantum
effortlessly navigate in three dimensions.
theory of atoms and molecules, whereas the
Our brains, like the fruit fly's, unconsciously
basic laws of intelligence remain a mystery.
recognise what we see by performing countless
But a sizeable number of mathematicians and
calculations. This unconscious awareness of
computer scientists, who are specialists in the
patterns is exactly what computers are missing.
area, are optimistic about the possibilities.
The second problem is robots' lack of common
To them it is only a matter of time before a
sense. Humans know that water is wet and
thinking machine walks out of the laboratory.
that mothers are older than their daughters.
Over the years, various problems have impeded
But there is no mathematics that can express
all efforts to create robots. To attack these
these truths. Children learn the intuitive laws
difficulties, researchers tried to use the 'top-
of biology and physics by interacting with the
down approach', using ~ computer in an attempt
real world. Robots know only what has been
to program all the essential rules onto a single
programmed into them.
disc. By inserting this into a machine, it would
then become self-aware and attain human-like
intelligence.
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Reading Passage 2
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Test 1 Exam practice
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29
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D Because of the limitations of the top-down distinguishes us as human, that it is impossible
approach to Artificial Intelligence, attempts for machines ever to have emotions. Computer
have been made to use a 'bottom-up' approach expert Hans Moravec thinks that in the future
instead -that is, to try to imitate evolution robots will be programmed with emotions
and the way a baby learns. Rodney Brooks such as fear to protect themselves so that they
was the director of MIT's Artificial Intelligence can signal to humans when their batteries are
laboratory, famous for its lumbering 'top- running low, for example. Emotions are vital
down' walking robots. He changed the course in decision-making. People who have suffered
of research when he explored the unorthodox a certain kind of brain injury lose the ability
idea of tiny 'insectold' robots that learned to experience emotions and become unable
to walk by bumping into things instead of to make decisions. Without emotions to guide
computing mathematically the precise position them, they debate endlessly over their options.
of their feet. Today many of the descendants of Moravec points out that as robots become more
Brooks' insectoid robots are on Mars gathering . inte!llgent and are able to make choices, they
data for NASA (The National Aeronautics and could likewise become paralysed with indecision.
Space Administration), running across the dusty To aid them, robots of the future might need to
landscape of the planet. for all their successes have emotions hardwired into their brains.
in mimicking the behaviour of insects, however,
robots using neural networks have performed IF There is no universal consensus as to whether
miserably when their programmers have tried machines can be conscious, or even, in human
to duplicate in them the behaviour of higher terms, what consciousness means. Minsky
organisms such as mammals. MIT's Marvin suggests the thinking process in our brain is not
Minsky summarises the problems of Al: 'The localised but spread out, with different centres
history of Al is sort of funny because the first competing with one another at any given time.
real accomplishments were beautiful things, like Consciousness may then be viewed as a sequence
a machine that could do well in a maths course. of thoughts and images issuing from these
But then we started to try to make machines that different, smaller 'minds', each one competing
could answer questions about simple children's for our attention. Robots might eventually attain
stories. There's no machine today that can do a 'silicon consciousness'. Robots, In fact, might
that.' one day embody an architecture for thinking
and processing information that is different from
E There are people who believe that eventually ours - but also indistinguishable. If that happens,
there will be a combination between the top- the question of whether they really 'understand'
down and bottom-up, which may provide the becomes largely irrelevant. A robot that has
key to Artificial Intelligence. As adults, we blend perfect mastery of syntax, for all practical
the two approaches. It has been suggested that purposes, understands what is being said.
our emotions represent the quality that most
30 Test 1 Exam practice Reading Passage 2
Action plan for Locating information
1 Look at the title and subtitle and decide who or what the text is about.
2 Read the questions quickly and see what else you can predict about the text.
3 Read the text
Questions 14-20
Reading Passage 2 has six paragraphs, A~F.
Which paragraph contains the fo)!owing information?
Write the correct fetter; A-F, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once. i
14 an insect that proves the superiority of natural intelligence over Artificial
Intelligence
15 robots being able to benefit from their mistakes
16 many researchers not being put off believing that Artificial Intelligence
will eventually be developed
17 an innovative approach that is having limited success
18 the possibility of creating Artificial Intelligence being doubted by some
academics
19 no generally accepted agrnement of what our brains do
ti
20 robots not being able to extend their intelligence in the same way as
G humans
Reading Passage 2 Test 1 Exam practice 31
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~.,- .. - .- __ ··--------~----·---·
Action plan for Matching names
If Matching names is the first task for a text, read the text through very quickly before you follow
this pfan so that you have a general idea of the text's structure and argument.
1 Look at the list of names. Find them in the text and underline them.
Sometimes the names are in more than one place.
-r-:
Questions 21-23
Look at the following people (Questions 21-23) and the list of statements below. CT:i~~;: Write the letter of the correct
···...·. =statement. not the paragraph
Match each person with the correct statement, A-E where you find the answer.
Write the correct te'tter, A-E, in boxes 21-23 on your answer sheet.
21 Colin McGinn
22 Marvin Minsky
23 Hans Moravec
A Artificial Intelligence may require something equivalent to
feelings in order to succeed.
B Different kinds of people use different parts of the brain.
C Tests involving fiction have defeated Artificial Intelligence so far.
D People have intellectual capacities which do not exist ln
computers.
E People have no reason to be frightened of robots.
32 Test 1 Exam practice Reading Passage 2
~J. Action plan for Summary completion
§'0i If Summary completion is the first task for a text, read the text through very quickly before you
""4'' follow this plan so that you have a general idea of the text's structure and argument.
tii 1 Read the instructions and check how many words you have to write.
• 2 Locate the part(s) of the text you need by reading the summary and underlining
important words. The title of the summary may help you.
_The information you need may be in one paragraph or it may be spread over a longer part
of text
8 Questions 24-26
'""::,-.:::;.
~ Complete the summary below.
~j) Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
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Write your answers in boxes 24-26 on your answer sheet.
When wiU we have a thinking machine?
Despite some advances, the early robots had certain
weaknesses. They were given the information they needed
on a 24 This was known as the 'top-down' approach
and enabled them to do certain tasks but they were unable
to recognise 25 Nor did they have any intuition
or ability to make decisions based on experience. Rodney
Brooks tried a different approach. Robots similar to those
invented by Brooks are to be found on 26 where they
~-.~
are collecting information.
• Reading Passage 2 Test 1 Exam practice I 33
