Billy Gottenstrater

English 149 -- Section 17

Project 2 -- Artificial Intelligence

Table of Contents
Project Proposal ...3
Progress Report ...5
Recommendation Report ...6

MEMORANDUM
TO: Frankfurt Jobbins Esquire, CEO of AI LLC
FROM: Billy Gottenstrater, researcher
DATE: 10/27/2015
SUBJECT: Project Proposal
Background
Artificial intelligence, i.e. machines thinking like humans is a field that has been
advancing a lot in the past 2 decades. If it were to become a reality, the benefits
would be enormous, but the potential setbacks (machines taking over the world,
laziness of the human race) are large as well.
Proposed Study
I would like to propose a research report on how artificial intelligence could help or
hurt the society in which it exists. I will explore the ethics of artificial intelligence and
the precautions necessary to take to avoid things like machines turning against
humans. I will look into possible laws to govern both AIs and humans.
Statement of Opportunity
I am a computer science major, and though no one has an understanding as to how
true AI will work, I believe I have some knowledge necessary to understand what
advances have been made so far. An understanding of coding principles is a good base
for the understanding of artificial intelligence. Though artificial intelligence, when it
comes to fruition, will have extremely complex code, a basic coding still helps in
understanding. Also, the current AI systems we have are very understandable from a
coding perspective. Furthermore, I thoroughly enjoy discussing philosophical issues
and problem solving, and the ethics of AI are both a philosophical issue and a problem
to solve.
Scope of Proposed Study
My research report will explore:
- The advancements that have been made in AI so far
- The ethics of AI, should it become a reality
- How close we are to creating true AI
3

Methods and Data Sources

Most of my sources will be secondary sources about AI, from research papers in
scholarly journals to YouTube videos. I also intend to conduct a survey about the
ethics of artificial intelligence which I will post on the Cal Poly Class of 2018 Facebook
page.
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to email me at
wgottens@calpoly.edu
. Thank you for your continued support.
CC: Art Vanderclaven, professor of Artificial Intelligence, MIT

MEMORANDUM

TO: Frankfurt Jobbins Esquire, CEO of AI LLC

FROM: Billy Gottenstrater, researcher
DATE: 10/27/2015
SUBJECT: Artificial Intelligence Research Progress Report
Work Completed
Research in artificial intelligence is going well. Since our last communication, I have decided
to focus mostly on human progress in AI, with a small concentration of ethics. Artificial
intelligence is progressing fast, but it has not yet reached the point where ethics become an
issue, and while it is important to be proactive, I want this project to be about the current
implications of artificial intelligence.
Secondary sources have been gathered and looked over. I am particularly interested in an
article about a robot that has showed the beginnings of self-awareness. The primary
research has been decided: An observation of artificial intelligence in video games
(specifically, Super Smash Bros. Melee). I will observe the behavior of the different AIs in
the game (varying game-controlled characters set to varying difficulty levels).
Work Remaining
I still need to gather quotes and raw data from my secondary sources, and I still need to
collect data for my primary research. Once the secondary research has been done, I will
start on my recommendation report, which will be finished on time.
Timeline
Primary research Finished on 11/03
Recommendation report rough draft Finished on 11/05
Secondary data Gathered by 11/07
Final product Finished and submitted by 11/08

CC: Art Vanderclaven, professor of Artificial Intelligence, MIT

MEMORANDUM
TO: Frankfurt Jobbins Esquire, CEO of AI LLC
FROM: Billy Gottenstrater, researcher
DATE: 10/27/2015
SUBJECT: Recommendation Report
Artificial intelligence
is human-like intelligence in machines, characterized by
complex problem solving and
self-awareness
(knowing ones self and understanding
its properties). It is a topic that has been covered in many forms of fictional media,
from iRobot to Star Trek: The Next Generation. With the speed at which technology is
progressing, artificial intelligence could be on the horizon. Many science fiction
movies have shown the possible negative effects of artificial intelligence, but few
show the good effects. The negative effects of AI that are often covered in fictional
media is machines taking over the world. In other words, humans could lose control of
machines, machines could choose to be hostile rather than coexist, and the human
race could end up living in hiding or not living at all. Movies like The Matrix and I,
Robot cover these possibilities. The positive possibilities are equally earth-shattering.
According to
Research Priorities for Robust and Beneficial Artificial Intelligence: an
Open Letter
, an open letter signed by many experts in the field, the implications of
artificial intelligence could lead to an end to poverty and world hunger, due to
human-like intelligence in conjunction with lightning-fast processing power. The
possibilities are almost polar opposites, one being the practical end of humanity, and
the other solving humanitys biggest problems.

Development of Self-Awareness In Robots

40 years ago, the notion of artificial intelligence had been conceived, but was as far
off as faster-than-light travel is for humans now. Now, artificial intelligence is on the
horizon. Nonetheless, we are still far off.
One recent advancement, described by an article in New Scientist1, is a robot that was
able to pass
the wise man test
. The wise man test is designed to test for
self-awareness in robots. Essentially, three robots are told that two of them has been
given a dumbing pill which causes the user to be mute. In reality, it was a button on
top of the robots heads that muted each robot. One button was a placebo. At once,
all robots are asked if they were given the dumbing pill. Each robot tries to figure it
Hodson,Hal."RobotHomesinonConsciousnessbyPassingSelfawarenessTest."
NewScientist
.N.p.,
n.d.Web.08Nov.2015.
1

out and realizes there is no way to know given the current information, so each robot
tries to say I dont know. When one robot succeeds in saying I dont know but the
others fail, the robot that succeeds revises the statement, saying
I know now. I was
able to prove that I was not given a dumbing pill.
The ability for a robot to recognize its own voice and understand that it was the origin
of the voice may not seem like much for a human, but it is a large step towards full
self-awareness in robots. Thats the most advanced unclassified technology in
artificial intelligence that has been made to date. According to an article in
New
Scientist
,
Robots are being used in a range of ways to probe the mysteries of
consciousness. For example, Nico, a research robot at Yale University, has been taught
to recognise its own hand in a mirror
. Another robot, called Qbo, was taught to use
face recognition software to recognise its own face in a mirror.
The hope is that one
day, a robot will see its face in a mirror and truly understand that it is its own.

Artificial Intelligence In Super Smash Bros. Melee

For primary research, I played the game S
uper Smash Bros. Melee
. In this game, the
players controlled by the Central Processing Unit (CPUs) can be given different levels
ranging from 1 to 9, 9 being the hardest to play against. In addition to that, there are a
total of 26 characters to choose from. Having played this game a lot in the past, I
know that CPUs are preprogrammed in a certain way that cant be changed. That
means that they dont have true artificial intelligence and cannot learn, which is why
they dont use advanced techniques (like wavedashing, L-canceling, or
shield-dropping) and never will. Nonetheless, I wanted to test the artificial
intelligence employed by the game.
From direct observation I found that the AI in the game have a set of combinations of
moves that they excecute at random intervals. Due to the fact that I was not able to
access the code for the game I was not able to determine if it was truly random, but
there is definitely a random element to their actions. They make movements and
actions based on the actions of the player(s), but in predetermined ways. I wont go
into extreme detail due to the technical nature of the game, but here are a couple of
examples: When the CPU is playing as the character Captain Falcon, down-throw +
side-B +up-B is a common combination. While this combination works well, it is simply
pre-programmed. Another common combination the CPU executes is, as Fox,
down-throw + down-B.

These combinations are the most sophisticated things the AI does in the game, and
even then, each combination has already been programmed, and is executed at
random applicable times. The CPUs cannot ever improve these combos or add
anything onto them. Furthermore, if the player is able to avoid these combinations
regularly, the CPU will not stop excecuting them, because it is incapable of learning.

CPUs in
Super Smash Bros. Melee
are by no means the most sophisticated AIs in video
games, but they are representative of how AIs are in video games at this point:
formulaic, with even the random elements being preprogrammed. At this point, we
have a long way to go before robots are able to learn or form their own thoughts, let
alone take over the world but in the meantime, theres no harm in thinking of what
tenets we should hold when that time comes.

Ethics
Within the world of Artificial Intelligence, there may arise many ethical issues:
Whether or not to allow robots to have full
sentience
(the ability for
something to have feelings and experience the world around it)
If sentience is not desired, how to prevent it from happening
How to make sure robots still do our will
How to limit human use of artificial intelligence
Whether robots taking jobs would lead to overall human happiness or just
human unemployment
If we dont want robots taking over the job market, how to prevent that from
happening
How to regulate the use of artificial intelligence
There is a foundation called The Future of Life Institute that focuses on future
implementation of AI. It has an open letter called R
esearch Priorities for Robust and
2
Beneficial Artificial Intelligence: an Open Letter
. It states that the possibilities of AI
are amazing, but the possible consequences could be dire. It states that we must try
to research as much as possible and that small investments could compound into
great results. It summarizes with
In summary, we believe that research on how to
make AI systems robust and beneficial is both important and timely, and that there
are concrete research directions that can be pursued today.

TheFutureofLifeInstitute."FLIFutureofLifeInstitute|AIOpenLetter."
FLIFutureofLife
Institute
.N.p.,n.d.Web.08Nov.2015.
2

All in all, artificial intelligence is rapidly developing, and though we there is a lot of
promise, we still have a long way to go. It is necessary to be careful when moving
forward, but nonetheless, we s
hould
move forward, as the possible benefits are
astronomical. I would like to be given funds and time to further research this topic,
ethics and advancements. Thank you