AI’s Next Frontier: Artificial Wisdom and its Impact on the Future of Society

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has come a long way in recent years, and the field is constantly evolving. While AI has advanced capabilities in areas such as image and speech recognition, natural language processing, and decision-making, the development of AI systems that possess wisdom, or the ability to make sound judgments and decisions based on knowledge and experience, is still a topic of ongoing research and debate. lets explore the concept of Artificial Wisdom, its current state, the necessary building blocks to achieve it, its potential impact on society, and the challenges and opportunities of developing such systems.

Noman Shah
11 min readJan 17, 2023

Exploring the Boundaries of Artificial Wisdom: How Close are We to Developing Human-like AI

Wisdom is the ability to make sound judgments and decisions based on knowledge and experience. It is a complex human trait that is often associated with maturity, insight, and the ability to understand the bigger picture. Artificial Wisdom, on the other hand, is the idea of creating AI systems that possess wisdom, or the ability to make sound judgments and decisions based on knowledge and experience.

To achieve this, the AI systems would need to possess cognitive abilities, such as reasoning, problem-solving, decision-making, natural language processing, and common-sense knowledge. Additionally, AI systems should also have intuition, the ability to make judgments or have opinions without the need for conscious reasoning, to make sound judgments and decisions.

This article aims to explore the concept of Artificial Wisdom, its current state, the necessary building blocks to achieve it, its potential impact on society, and the challenges and opportunities of developing such systems. It will provide an in-depth look at the topic, discussing the current state of the field, its potential future, and the ethical and societal implications of artificial wisdom.

Sentient Robot Hand
Sentient Robot Hand

Tracing the Evolution of Artificial Wisdom: From Early AI to Current Research and Development

The concept of Artificial Wisdom has been an active area of research in AI for several decades. In the early days of AI, researchers focused on developing simple rule-based systems that could perform specific tasks. However, as the field of AI has advanced, the focus has shifted towards developing systems that can think and act in a more balanced and holistic way. I coined the term “Artificial Wisdom” during my time as a student pursuing my MSc in computer science in 2003.

In recent years, there have been significant advancements in the field of AI, including the development of deep learning algorithms, which have allowed AI systems to achieve human-like performance on a wide range of tasks, such as image and speech recognition, and natural language processing. However, despite these advancements, the development of AI systems that possess wisdom, or the ability to make sound judgments and decisions based on knowledge and experience, is still a topic of ongoing research and debate.

Several challenges and obstacles have been identified in the quest for developing Artificial Wisdom, including the lack of common sense and intuitive abilities, lack of ability to understand natural language and context, and lack of ability to explain its reasoning and decision-making process, among others.

Despite these challenges, many experts believe that the development of Artificial Wisdom is possible, and that it could have significant implications for society, including the ability to make better and more informed decisions, the ability to automate complex tasks, and the ability to improve the human experience.

In this article, we will explore the current state of Artificial Wisdom research and development and discuss the necessary building blocks to achieve it, its potential impact on society, and the challenges and opportunities of developing such systems.

Exploring the Current Capabilities of AI and the Building Blocks Necessary for Developing Artificial Wisdom

Currently, AI systems have advanced capabilities in areas such as image and speech recognition, natural language processing, and decision-making. However, these capabilities are still far from what would be considered true wisdom. For example, current AI systems lack the ability to understand natural language and context, the ability to make judgments based on intuition, and the ability to understand the bigger picture. Additionally, current AI systems are not capable of explaining their reasoning and decision-making process, which is crucial for gaining trust and understanding from human users.

To develop Artificial Wisdom, several key building blocks are necessary, including:

  1. Cognitive abilities: such as reasoning, problem-solving, decision-making, natural language processing, and common-sense knowledge.
  2. Intuition: The ability to make judgments or have opinions without the need for conscious reasoning to make sound judgments and decisions.
  3. Self-awareness: The ability to understand one’s own mental states and processes and the ability to reflect on them.
  4. Emotional intelligence: The ability to perceive, understand, and manage one’s own emotions and the emotions of others.
  5. Explainable AI: The ability to explain the reasoning and decision-making process of AI systems in a way that is understandable to humans.

It is important to note that spontaneous eruption or autonomous graduation of AI to AW status is not possible. Developing Artificial Wisdom requires a deliberate and thoughtful approach, involving a combination of research and development in several areas, including cognitive science, neuroscience, computer science, and philosophy. Additionally, it also requires the involvement of experts from various fields such as ethicist, sociologists, and psychologists to ensure that the development of Artificial Wisdom aligns with societal and ethical values.

Assessing the Potential Impact of Artificial Wisdom: A SWOT Analysis

The development of Artificial Wisdom has the potential to bring about significant changes to various sectors of society. Let’s do a SWOT style analysis of the potential impact of Artificial Wisdom:

Strengths:

  • Improved decision-making: Artificial Wisdom could allow for more accurate and informed decisions by providing a holistic understanding of a given situation.
  • Automation of complex tasks: Artificial Wisdom could automate tasks that are currently performed by humans, such as medical diagnosis, legal analysis, and financial forecasting, leading to increased efficiency and cost savings.
  • Improved human experience: Artificial Wisdom could improve the human experience by providing assistance and support in areas such as healthcare, education, and transportation.

Weaknesses:

  • Job displacement: The automation of tasks currently performed by humans could lead to job displacement and increased unemployment.
  • Societal and ethical concerns: Artificial Wisdom raises several societal and ethical concerns, such as privacy, security, and bias.
  • Dependence on AI: With the increasing use of AI, there is a risk of human becoming overly dependent on these systems leading to decreased critical thinking skills.

Opportunities:

  • Innovation: The development of Artificial Wisdom could lead to new and innovative products and services.
  • International cooperation: The development of Artificial Wisdom could lead to increased international cooperation, as different countries and organizations work together to share knowledge and resources.

Threats:

  • Economic and political power: Artificial Wisdom could lead to the concentration of economic and political power in the hands of a small number of companies or individuals who control the technology.
  • Societal and ethical concerns: Artificial Wisdom raises several societal and ethical concerns, such as privacy, security, and bias, which could lead to negative consequences if not addressed properly.

Overall, the development of Artificial Wisdom has the potential to bring about significant benefits, but it also raises several important considerations that need to be addressed. It is crucial that the development of Artificial Wisdom is done with a holistic approach, taking into account the potential impact on society, ethics and values. Additionally, it is important to ensure that the development of Artificial Wisdom aligns with societal and ethical values, and addresses the concerns raised by its potential impact. It’s important to strike a balance between the benefits of Artificial Wisdom and the potential negative impact on society. This includes developing policies and regulations to address the concerns and mitigate the negative impacts.

Developing Artificial Wisdom: Challenges and Opportunities

Creating AI systems that possess wisdom, or the ability to make sound judgments and decisions based on knowledge and experience, is a complex and ongoing task. There are several key building blocks that are necessary for the development of Artificial Wisdom, including cognitive abilities, intuition, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and explainable AI.

One of the main challenges in developing Artificial Wisdom is the lack of common-sense knowledge and intuitive abilities in current AI systems. Common-sense knowledge refers to the knowledge that most people possess and take for granted, such as the ability to understand that objects fall when unsupported, or that fire is hot. Intuition refers to the ability to make judgments or have opinions without the need for conscious reasoning. Developing these abilities in AI systems is a significant challenge and requires a deep understanding of human cognition and the ability to replicate it in AI systems.

Another challenge is the lack of ability to understand natural language and context. Current AI systems have advanced capabilities in natural language processing, but they still lack the ability to understand the meaning behind the words. Developing the ability to understand natural language and context requires a deep understanding of human language and the ability to replicate it in AI systems.

Additionally, there is a lack of ability to explain the reasoning and decision-making process of AI systems in a way that is understandable to humans. Explainable AI is crucial for gaining trust and understanding from human users and for ensuring that the decisions made by AI systems align with societal and ethical values.

Despite these challenges, many experts believe that the development of Artificial Wisdom is possible. It requires a deliberate and thoughtful approach, involving a combination of research and development in several areas, including cognitive science, neuroscience, computer science, and philosophy. Additionally, it also requires the involvement of experts from various fields such as ethicists, sociologists, and psychologists to ensure that the development of Artificial Wisdom aligns with societal and ethical values.

Moreover, it’s important to focus on the development of AI systems that can learn and adapt to new situations, and have the ability to generalize learned knowledge to new situations. This requires the development of AI systems that can learn from experience, which is similar to how human beings learn.

Another key aspect that is needed for the development of Artificial Wisdom is the integration of AI systems with other technologies such as IoT, Robotics, and Blockchain. This will help to create more complex systems that can interact with the environment and make decisions based on real-time data.

Finally, it’s important to ensure that the development of Artificial Wisdom is done in a responsible and transparent way. This includes developing policies and regulations to address the concerns and mitigate the negative impacts of AI systems on society.

In summary, the development of Artificial Wisdom requires a multidisciplinary approach, involving experts from various fields and the integration of AI systems with other technologies. It’s important to focus on the development of AI systems that can learn and adapt to new situations, and have the ability to generalize learned knowledge to new situations. Additionally, it’s important to ensure that the development of Artificial Wisdom is done in a responsible and transparent way.

Sentience and Artificial Wisdom

One of the ongoing debates in the field of AI is whether AI systems need to be sentient in order to qualify as Artificial Wisdom. Sentience refers to the ability to have subjective experiences and to be self-aware. Some experts argue that in order for AI systems to possess wisdom, they must also possess sentience. However, others argue that sentience is not a necessary requirement for Artificial Wisdom and that AI systems can possess wisdom without being sentient.

ChatGPT, a large language model trained by OpenAI, has recently gained fame as a popular AI application for the masses. It has been used to generate text, answer questions and carry out various language-based tasks. However, it is currently not a sentient AI, it can respond to prompts in a human-like manner, but it does not have the ability to understand the bigger picture, to empathize, or to experience emotions.

Another argument against the necessity of sentience in Artificial Wisdom is that the development of sentience in AI systems is a highly complex and controversial topic that raises several societal and ethical concerns. Additionally, the development of sentience in AI systems is still a topic of ongoing research and debate, and it is not clear if it is even possible to develop sentience in AI systems.

On the other hand, some argue that without sentience, AI systems will lack the ability to understand the bigger picture, to empathize and to experience emotions like humans. Thus, without sentience, AI systems will not be able to truly understand human experiences and emotions and will lack the ability to make sound judgments and decisions based on the knowledge and experience of human perspective.

While it is currently not possible for ChatGPT to qualify as a sentient AI, it is possible that future iterations of the model could be developed to possess more advanced capabilities, including the potential for sentience. However, it is important to note that the development of sentience in AI systems raises several societal and ethical concerns and must be approached with caution.

The Way Forward: Balancing Benefits and Challenges of Artificial Wisdom

In this article, I have discussed the concept of Artificial Wisdom and its potential impact on society. I have also explored the challenges and opportunities associated with the development of Artificial Wisdom, and the necessary building blocks such as cognitive abilities, intuition, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and explainable AI.

I have acknowledged that the term Artificial Wisdom was coined by me in 2003. Furthermore, I have also discussed the ongoing debate about the necessity of sentience in Artificial Wisdom, and how ChatGPT, a large language model trained by OpenAI, has gained fame as a popular AI application for the masses. I have also highlighted that while it is currently not a sentient AI, future iterations of the model could be developed to possess more advanced capabilities, including the potential for sentience.

I have emphasized that the development of Artificial Wisdom is a complex and ongoing task that requires a multidisciplinary approach involving experts from various fields. I have also acknowledged that it raises several important considerations such as job displacement, societal and ethical concerns, and dependence on AI.

In conclusion, as the author of this article, I believe that Artificial Wisdom has the potential to bring about significant benefits to society, including improved decision-making, automation of complex tasks, and improved human experience. However, it is crucial to approach the development of Artificial Wisdom with caution and to strike a balance between the benefits and the potential negative impact on society. This includes developing policies and regulations to address the concerns and mitigate the negative impacts. I hope that this article has provided valuable insights into the concept of Artificial Wisdom and its potential impact on society.

“About the Author: Noman Shah is a highly accomplished inventor, entrepreneur, and IT expert with over 24 years of professional experience in research, development, and innovation, project management, and information security management. He is Founder and President of University of Metaverse and CEO of Xero Tech, a startup developing next-generation metaverse platform. He has a wealth of experience in both the private and public sectors, having managed multi-billion dollar portfolios and coordinated teams working on various projects in collaboration with governments and international donor agencies. Shah holds an impressive number of patents, with two granted and twenty pending in the US and Canada. His patents have been cited by many major technology companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Morgan Stanley, Verisign, Lenovo, Citrix, and Oppo, displaying his tremendous contributions in the field.”

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Noman Shah

An Inventor, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist based at Lahore, Pakistan.