Difference Between AI and ExoTech
Firstly, let’s make sure we are all on the same page with regard to this topic.
When we say, “AI”, what do we mean? When I think of Artificial Intelligence, I immediately think of the robots that Isaac Asimov wrote about in his 1940’s and 50’s science fiction novels and short stories. I’m a particular fan of his writings and have read nearly all of his stories 5 to 10 times over and still get pleasure from reading them. I am particularly fond of his robot character; Daneel Olivaw, who was mechanical on the inside, but was apparently made of flesh and blood on the outside. So, he could very easily pass himself off as a human.
Asimov’s robots were definitely intelligent. They could perform all of the tasks that a human could perform and could do many of them faster, and more effectively. It’s the same with the Star Wars robots: R2D2 and C3PO. They were intelligent too, and could think with data like a human could, and come to similar conclusions.
But Asimov’s R. Daneel Olivaw and the Star Wars robots are fantasy characters. They don’t exist. And there is nothing that is even close to their capabilities today. So, what is it that people are calling AI in today’s world?
Well, there are actually lots of these, but most of them are either mechanical or software devices that help people do certain actions better, faster, or more precisely than they could otherwise. Or they are some sort of word-manipulating or image-manipulating software tool.
Take the first category – tools to help people work more accurately. There are some examples of these in the medical profession, helping surgeons to perform very precise and delicate operations. But these are not really intelligent. They just enhance the surgeon’s movements and give him a better chance of completing the operations successfully. But the news reports still insist on saying that “the surgery was performed with the assistance of artificial intelligence…” It’s just not true.
And it’s not true, because, although what they are doing is the result of some very clever software programming, they are not intelligent, like you and I are.
Then there are the manipulating software programs. ChatGPT is a good example of these. They basically have a huge source of words and material and some rudimentary abilities to put that material together according to instructions given to it by a human. So, you could ask it to; “Write me a two-paragraph introduction to an article on forest regeneration”, and you would get a suitable article presented to you.
Well, that’s nice. But what is the source of the material it is using? Most of its material comes from the internet. And how accurate is that? Well, there are already a whole bunch of law suits arising from inaccurate reports that were generated by ChatGPT, because they were dramatically wrong. Not very intelligent.
But I’ll bet there are a lot of kids at school who find this a very useful way of getting out of writing such things themselves. But is that “Artificial Intelligence”? I don’t think so. That’s a word-manipulation program. Once again; very clever programming, but it is not actually intelligent.
And then there are the recent programs that can mimic another person’s voice and speech mannerisms so well, that it can be very difficult to tell them apart. But that’s not intelligence. That’s simply copying the voice characteristics and mimicking them back. You can do the same with images too, and there are a lot of screen and TV actors who have some very legitimate concerns about their jobs disappearing, because some “AI” image program has replicated them.
But, with the exception of the fantasy characters that have been conjured up in science fiction, there has not really been any actual artificial intelligence created in this world yet.
Here’s a thought, though. Real artificial intelligence would require machines we can talk to that can actually understand what we are saying – just like the science fiction robots can – this cannot be done with today’s speech recognition technology. Speech recognition is simply a way of pushing specific buttons on the device by speaking to it. You know; “Print this page.”, or “Save this document”. You will never be able to run a robot with such simplistic control.
But look at what ExoTech is doing, right now. We are building a machine that can be driven with language control, not speech recognition. With language control, the commands, instructions, and data that you give the machine will be understood, just like you can understand what I am saying right now.
I think that means that the only real artificial intelligence in the world today is… ExoTech.
So, when asked to talk about the difference between AI and ExoTech, that’s easy. There’s no difference because we are the beginnings of real artificial intelligence.
However, if we are talking about comparing what is being declared as AI today, with what we are producing at ExoTech, we can do that too.
What is being declared as AI in today’s press are just some very clever programs that have been put together to manipulate words, sounds, and images. Or they are programs to assist people to manipulate physical instruments more accurately. ExoTech, on the other hand, is producing an entire computing platform in which all current programs will eventually be replicated. But, replicated in such a way that they will be far easier to operate and will be completely language controllable.
If people want a word manipulation program, like ChatGPT, we will make that available in the ExoBrain, along with all the other word, image, and voice manipulation programs you could want. But the ExoBrain will also provide all of the other programs that we all use – document programs, excel-type spreadsheets, presentation programs, games, backups, and a whole lot more.
Once the ExoBrain has been launched and then built up over the next year or so to its full potential, you will never need to open an old-fashioned PC or MAC program again.
So, what people are calling AI today will simply become apps and functionalities that will be available within the ExoBrain. And they will be a very small part of what the ExoBrain makes available to all. So, what’s the difference between AI and ExoTech? AI, as designated today, is simply a group of programs – apps. Whereas ExoTech is a whole new computing platform containing all of the computing one will use, including any AI programs. Because… today’s AI is just an app.
Neil Clark graduated from Gordon Institute of Technology, Geelong, Australia, as an Electrical Engineer. One of his first jobs was redesigning the entire electrical control system for the Fuel Recharging process at the Hunterston Nuclear Power Station in Scotland in the early 1960s.
Neil worked with IBM Australia from 1973 to 1992 where he was the Product Manager for the IBM PC through the 1980s. He took an early retirement package and then started his own business offering database development services for small businesses.
He has worked selling, marketing and as a product manager in the computer industry, so has a wide gamut of knowledge that he brings to his position in ExoTech Ltd, as well as being a published author.