Apple Engineers Expose the Hilarious Fragility of AI ‘Reasoning’

“Apple Engineers Show How Flimsy AI ‘Reasoning’ Can Be”

“In a paper published online last month, researchers at Apple AI detailed a machine-learning system capable of performing a type of common-sense reasoning called logical list operations. The idea is to give AI a degree of ‘understanding’ similar to that held by a human reader. For instance, if a person reads: ‘Sally and Bob are in the kitchen. Sally left. Bob left.’ Most people would infer that the kitchen is now empty.”

Ah, the allure and mystique of Artificial Intelligence. Apple’s latest foray into the tech landscape is a machine-learning system that can, hold on to your hats folks, perform logical list operations. It’s a staggering concept really – a digital brain comprehending that an empty kitchen is, well, empty. Rocket science, this is not. It’s essentially a high-tech way of stating the blindingly obvious.

The researchers have gone to great lengths to ensure that their creation can grasp the complexities comparable to a human reader. What’s next? An AI that can appreciate the literary genius of “War and Peace”, perhaps? Unfortunately, we must wait with bated breath for such groundbreaking advancements.

In the meantime, Apple is trotting out its AI prowess. And how do they test this state-of-the-art technology? With a story about Sally and Bob in a kitchen, of course. No, this isn’t a joke. This is cutting-edge AI technology being put through its paces with a narrative that wouldn’t challenge a preschooler. It makes one ponder the potential applications for such a system: overseeing national security operations? Piloting autonomous vehicles? Or maybe answering that eternal riddle: if a tree falls in a forest and there’s no one there to hear it, did it make a sound?

Before we get carried away with visions of philosophical, riddle-solving AI, let’s return to Sally and Bob. Apple’s AI was successfully able to deduce, through its mastery of ‘logical list operations,’ that if both folks vacate the kitchen, it is thus rendered empty. Truly, this is a triumph of technology. Brace yourself, Sophia, there’s a new AI wunderkind in town.

Now, let’s dare to imagine future implementation of this marvel of modern engineering. Just think: an AI that can determine if a fridge door is shut when there’s no one around. Or perhaps one capable of confirming that if all the lights are switched off, a room is indeed dark. The potential applications are profound. This is merely the jumping-off point. Soon we might relish the prospect of AI technology that can—gasp—formulate basic, completely obvious conclusions. Stay on your toes, folks, it looks like the future is now.

Read the original article here: https://www.wired.com/story/apple-ai-llm-reasoning-research/