A Speculative Evaluation of Artificial Intelligence / Machine Psychology: Do Artificial Intelligences Dream of Electric Sheep?

Öz

This study opens a theoretical and speculative inquiry into the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Beginning with Alan Turing’s 1950 question “Can machines think?”, the trajectory of research and development has shown, by the end of the first quarter of the twentieth-first century, that machines-i.e., AI systems—have achieved much beyond early expectations. Despite their limitations, contemporary AI technologies have reached levels at which they can surpass humans across perception, sensing, learning, reasoning, and many forms of production. In particular, in artistic production—where idea, aesthetics, and pleasure may depend on a certain depth of feeling—outputs are increasingly produced that cannot be reliably attributed to either humans or AI. What remains is the question of AI’s capacity to feel, which raises the query: can machines feel like humans? Put differently, beyond philosophical and artistic production, when machines become embedded in everyday life and interact with humans, does a psychological dimension of those machines emerge, and how should we assess their similarity to, and relation with, humans? Science-fiction author Philip K. Dick attempted to respond to this problem in his 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Following the trajectories of Turing and Dick and synthesizing their viewpoints, this study evaluates newsworthy media incidents in terms of AI’s potential to psychologically influence humans. The primary axis of analysis is the relation between feeling and psychology in AI. The study concludes that AI cannot feel as humans do, yet it can act in interactions as though it feels—simulating feeling in ways that may manipulate humans and cause material and immaterial harm. Such harms can be mitigated through well-designed AI literacy programs developed and implemented by stakeholders across politics, economics, technology, and education.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Artificial Intelligence Psychology
• Machine Psychology
• AI and Communication
• AI and Media
• Communication Psychology

Yapay Zekâ/Makine Psikolojisine Yönelik Spekülatif Bir Değerlendirme: Yapay Zekâ Elektrikli Koyun Düşler mi?

Öz

Bu çalışma yapay zekâ (YZ) teknolojisinin yetenekleri üzerine teorik düzeyde spekülatif bir değerlendirmeye kapı aralamaktadır. 1950 yılında Alan Turing’in “makineler insan gibi düşünebilir mi” adlı sorusuyla başlayan süreç, yirminci yüzyılın ilk çeyreğinin sonuna gelindiğinde, makinelerin (yapay zekânın-YZ’nin) fazlasını yaptığını göstermiştir. Bugün, YZ teknolojileri tüm eksiklerine rağmen, algılama, alımlama, öğrenme, düşünme ve birçok türde üretme süreçlerinin tümünde insanı aşabilen seviyeye ulaşmıştır. Özellikle fikir, estetik ve haz açısından belirli bir duygusal derinliğe dayanan sanatsal üretimde insan ile YZ arasında hangisinin yaptığı ayırt edilemeyecek ürünler ortaya çıkmaktadır. Geriye, “YZ’nin hissedebilme yeteneği” meselesi kalmıştır ve bu durum, “makineler insan gibi hissedebilir mi” sorusunu gündeme getirmektedir. Bir başka ifadeyle, felsefi ve sanatsal üretimin ötesine geçerek gündelik hayat pratiklerine dâhil olarak insanla etkileşim içine giren makinelerin psikolojik yönünün olup olmadığı ve bu bağlamda insana benzerliği ile insanla ilişkisi araştırmanın sorunsalıdır. Bilim-kurgu yazarı Philip K. Dick, 1968 yılında yayımlanan “Androidler Elektrikli Koyun Düşler mi?” adlı kurmaca eserinde bu meseleye yanıt bulmaya çalışmıştır. Turing ve Dick’in izinden giderek, bir anlamda onların görüşlerinin sentezleyen bu çalışmada, YZ’nin insanı psikolojik açıdan yönlendirmesi bağlamında medyaya düşen haberler değerlendirilmiştir. Değerlendirmelerin ana ekseni, hissetme bağlamında YZ ve psikolojisidir. Çalışmada incelenen haber metinleri ve yapılan literatür değerlendirmelerine göre YZ’nin insan gibi hissedemediği fakat insan ile ilişki ve/veya etkileşimlerinde hissediyormuşçasına hareket edebildiği gibi sonuçlara ulaşılmıştır. Başka bir ifadeyle, YZ’nin sınırları zorlayan taklit özelliğinin simülatif biçimde hissetme duygusunun yerine konumlanabildiği ve bu hâliyle insanı manipüle ettiği ederek maddi-manevi zarar verebildiği ortaya çıkmıştır. Toplumsal hayata düzenleyen siyaset, ekonomi, teknoloji ve eğitim alanlarındaki paydaşların katılımıyla iyi planlanmış bir YZ okuryazarlığı programıyla bireylerin bilinçlendirilerek söz konusu zararlar minimize edilebilir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Yapay Zekâ Psikolojisi
• Makine Psikolojisi
• Yapay Zekâ ve İletişim
• Yapay Zekâ ve Medya
• İletişim Psikolojisi

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