Does AI Think?

Abstract

This article raises a very relevant question today: “Does AI think?” To come up with an answer, it explores several conceptions of knowledge, from classical Aristotelian notions to modern philosophers’ takes on it. For Aristotle, knowledge starts with the senses, and, through epagoge and nous, it grows into an understanding of the nature of the thing known, which is something that does not happen with AI. Modern schools of thoughts are either rationalist or empiricist. For rationalists, knowledge is innate, while empiricists believe all knowledge comes from the senses. As Kant views it, knowledge is “built” on sensorial data with the use of theoretical reason categories. Based on these approaches, it is harder to claim that AI does not think by itself. The article also reviews current philosophers’ views on AI and AI thinking. Summing up, the answer to the initial question depends on the concept of knowledge adopted. As this article shares the classical notion of thinking, it concludes that AI does not think.