Insights | Intelligence vs. Intellect ?

Editor: Communications Department

Since the first programmable machine: ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was built in 1946, up to this point, the upgrade of computers brought great changes. So, we can now set our tools and adapt themselves. Computer culture has inspired many researchers, to create various miracles of science and technology; also, it has triggered endless wealth and productivity.

This quick journey roughly gets us to today, and has gradually freed us from distance limitations. However, in today’s AI landscape, we begin to worry about the future: What will these “complex” machines bring us? How will we get along with THEM?

Undoubted that AI development is inevitable, and let’s consider design. Intellect is objective which doesn’t require redundancy, exploration or judgment---the hallmarks of human thinking. For example, tasks to include under this pillar would be driving a truck of flowers from Amsterdam to London or counting apples in an orchard. These are “human intelligence”.

Intelligence, on the other hand, is conditioned in subjective. It is the “saving bank” which we bring our mental, intellectual and personal backlog. This is where exploratory innovation happens; where machines are our tools, not our replacements. In narrow fields, some machines and systems have gone far beyond our intelligence and they have played their respective roles. However, they cannot be automated, not until we build an Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) at least.

Machines are more adept at manipulating and commanding intelligence, sometimes even with the real assets. Therefore, we may meet a future that any work could save costs or could be clearly arranged are, or will, be automated.

Conversely, we all make inexplicable, on-the-fly choices when speaking to our bosses or playing sports. Let us consider what we do that is intellectual and what is intelligent. The first will be automated, which will lead the next generation of businesses.