The year 2023 is being hailed as the year of artificial intelligence. But is it really accurate to call a system “intelligent”? The current AI systems have little in common with our true understanding of “intelligence.” We are simply being misled by a few impressive tasks into believing these systems are intelligent. In my view, instead of calling it “artificial intelligence,” we should refer to it as a “digital assistant.” Here are my reasons for this argument:
By intelligence, we usually mean the capability of living beings to think and possess knowledge. Let’s put aside the word “living” for now, since we’re discussing man-made artificial systems that do not qualify as living beings.
Modern AI systems can be seen as advanced data collectors and analyzers, similar to other software tools. There have been previous systems capable of such tasks, which we have used for a long time. However, those systems required data to be provided in a specific format for analysis, and instructions had to be given in a language the system could understand—what we call computer programming languages.
Compared to those, current AI systems have a unique ability to understand our natural language. This means you can instruct an AI system in plain English or any other language of your choice. They have their own translation modules for understanding Bengali or any other language as well.
Furthermore, AI is preloaded with vast amounts of general information that we commonly require. AI is designed to answer general questions, but it can only respond based on information it has been given. Its real strengths lie in its enormous data repository and its ability to interpret natural instructions without the need for computer programming. Additionally, it can follow these instructions quickly and efficiently.
Now, you may ask: Since AI can understand instructions in our language and access a huge amount of data, why shouldn’t we call it “artificial intelligence”? The answer is that AI systems do not truly possess intelligence. They might seem intelligent because they can perform tasks we usually associate with intelligence. For example, you can give it an essay and ask for a summary of the key points. AI systems can do this swiftly because, over the past few decades, engineers and scientists have carefully built the modules and algorithms needed for such tasks. It’s just like how your calculator works. We don’t call a calculator an intelligent device, yet we mistakenly associate AI systems with intelligence. These systems are incapable of independent thought or reasoning. If you ask it to give an opinion on a topic, you’ll see that it cannot; if it did, that would be even more problematic.
I believe a more fitting term for AI would be “digital assistant.” We should treat it as a basic tool or system, much like the different kinds of software we use on our computers.
We might think of AI as intelligent because it can perform tasks that require certain levels of knowledge or skill, such as teaching or searching the internet. However, these abilities have been meticulously developed and trained by engineers over recent decades. As a result, AI is more of a sophisticated “digital assistant” than an actual intelligent entity.
Another source of confusion is AI’s apparent creativity, such as writing poetry or creating artistic images. But when defining these outputs as “creative,” we must be cautious—these are clever algorithms, but not truly related to “intelligence.” AI’s “creativity” arises from existing inputs and algorithms, not from a genuinely unique creative process. It identifies patterns from images it has seen and generates something new, or it displays outputs using an algorithm. We are deceived into thinking this is artistic intelligence.
In conclusion, as a technologist, I believe it is more appropriate to define today’s AI as a “digital assistant” instead of “artificial intelligence.” Labeling it as intelligent only leads to confusion. We’re facing unnecessary questions about people losing their jobs or AI taking control of humans in the future. Those seeking attention are exploiting this confusion by campaigning to shut down AI. AI is just another ordinary software or system—with a vast data repository and the capability to understand our everyday language instructions. Let’s call it what it is—a “digital assistant.”
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