In a previous article, Millennium Checkmate, I discussed how there is a strong relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and digital age information security. Continuing along this theme this article elaborates on the power of AI and how it may one day be a strong force in securing cyberspace.
"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that . . . I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen." These words were uttered by the artificially intelligent computer, HAL 9000, in Arthur C. Clarke's, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Interestingly, those 18 words encapsulate the role artificial intelligence plays in digital age information security.
Imagine a computer so "smart" it can detect unauthorized intruders attempting to access confidential files. Imagine a computer that understands the harmfulness of viruses and protects against potential dangers transparently. Imagine a computer that can imagine!
The philosophical implications of such an achievement are enormous and date back thousands of years. Descartes discussed thought in his famous Meditations. There he attempts to analyze reality by searching for its basis purely through cognitive introspection. After systematically rejecting the input from his senses as untrustworthy and unreliable, he is ultimately forced to reject the physical world itself. All of reality, even the philosopher's own existence, would therefore have to be justified in terms of thought. Hence, cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am). Having established mankind as a thinking entity, Descartes infers the reality of the physical universe necessarily the product of a benign Creator. According to Descartes -- thinking is a big deal.
Perhaps that explains why computer scientists and science fiction writers alike dreamed of these super intelligent machines for centuries. Charles Babbage, a nineteenth century mathematician, is often referred to as the "father of computing." His early work, which he named the "analytical engine" in 1833, leads many to believe he was also the "father of artificial intelligence." The discipline has been studied academically since 1950 when British mathematician, Alan Turing, wrote the first paper on the modern digital computer entitled, Computing Machinery and Intelligence.
Despite almost fifty years of research, however, many scientists believe we have yet to scrape the surface in the field of artificial intelligence. Computing and other related fields have been advancing, seemingly, at the speed of light. Someday, our computers may be able to fend for themselves. They may respond to viruses and intruders automatically, without the need for updated virus definition files or computer security personnel intervention. Until that day arrives however, we must rely on our own natural intelligence to help keep our computers virus free and the information they store safe.
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