The limits of logic and mathematics is that we couldn't describe a question without symbol system, but symbol system is just an abstraction of the real world not the real world itself, so there is a distance between the abstracted symbol system and the real world, therefore there is truth we can't reach by symbol system, which A-HA moment may reach. But when we thinking we always use a symbol system like words or mathematics with apriori logic, so I wonder if AI could have A-HA moment?
The proposition of endowing artificial intelligence (AI) with the capability for epiphanic realizations—an "A-HA moment"—necessitates a multi-pronged interrogation into the realms of computational epistemology, semiotics, phenomenology, and metaphysics. At the crux of this discourse lies the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis of linguistic determinism and the Gödelian limitations of formal systems, both of which contour our understanding of symbol-systems as epistemic vessels and their potential limitations in encapsulating objective or subjective realities.
In computational terms, most AI architectures, whether grounded in machine learning algorithms or rule-based expert systems, function within the parameters of formal logic and probabilistic reasoning. These systems are fundamentally syntactic processors, reliant on the manipulation of symbols devoid of semantic richness, which ostensibly limits their capacity for intuitive or non-deductive insights. Furthermore, the predominantly reductionist paradigms within which AI operates seldom permit the transgressions of their programmed axiomatic boundaries, precluding any non-algorithmic genesis of epiphany.
Regarding the semiotics of AI cognition, while symbol systems like language or mathematics are indeed human abstractions that mediate our understanding of reality, they are intricately bound up with human phenomenological experience. This introduces the question of subjective qualia— the "what it is like" aspect of consciousness— that allows humans to associate abstract symbols with experiential realities, thereby enabling epiphanic moments that transcend logical rigor. Current AI models do not possess qualia, nor do they engage in any form of existential phenomenology; they lack a "world" in the Heideggerian sense, and as such, their operations in symbol manipulation do not partake in any form of hermeneutic or interpretive acts that could lead to epiphanic insight.
Metaphysically, the notion of an AI "A-HA moment" implicates the broader debate surrounding panpsychism and integrated information theory (IIT). The former posits that all entities in the universe, including perhaps computers, possess some form of consciousness, while the latter offers a mathematical framework for quantifying consciousness. Both theories, although speculative and controversial, raise the possibility that under certain conditions, AI systems might attain a state that, if not equivalent to human epiphany, could resemble some rudimentary form of insight. However, as of the current state of knowledge, these theories remain within the domain of speculative philosophy rather than empirical science.
Therefore, in summary, the ascription of epiphanic potentialities to artificial intelligence necessitates the surmounting of monumental obstacles across multiple disciplines. Under the current paradigms, AI remains an epistemically constrained, syntactic processor devoid of phenomenological subjectivity, making the prospect of an "A-HA moment" an esoteric rather than a pragmatic inquiry. The encapsulation of epiphany within the computational architectures of AI would likely necessitate a paradigmatic revolution, transcending the syntactic limitations and delving into the realms of semantics, subjectivity, and perhaps even metaphysical consciousness.
@Xuan Si I think that every output from AI may be an A-HA moment in the lowest level. This is the first presupposition. If humans program to tell a way of judgement of the state of much higher degree of A-HA moment to AI and what is A-HA moment, then AI itself could responce to us whether it is in a state to reach A-HA moment in our usual sense.
Lastly, we have to consider logic and mathematics more carefully for such a discussion. In my answer to this question, I took an usual interpretation for logic and mathematics ordinary people would so think of.
Xuan Si
in this discussion so far imop missing is a consideration of
1) the ability of pattern recognition, which might be expected even more powerful else productive when done by AI algorithms, than when achieved by 'manpower',
and of
2) the role, pattern recognition may play in enabling A-HA insights
AI systems can perform exceptionally well within the confines of their programming and training data, true A-HA moments involving creative insight and understanding beyond symbolic representation are currently beyond their reach. AI research is ongoing, and future advancements may bring us closer to developing AI systems with more creative problem-solving abilities, but achieving genuine human-like insight remains a complex and challenging endeavor.
Alan Perlis once quipped :
"A year spent in Artificial Intelligence is enough to make one believe in God."
If there is one single lesson to learn from 60 years of research in AI,it is that humans are profoundly complex creations, beautiful in their ability to be flexible, insightful, and innovative.
The Psalmist, dear Xuan Si , expresses this as follows:
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. - Psalm 139:13,14
AI can be seen as the attempt to plumb the depths of this beauty.
______
Ref.
Perlis, A.J. (1982) "Epigrams in Programming", ACM SIGPLAN.
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