Who is the one getting smarter? | The True Story of AI #1

— The First "Shiritori Robot"

AI does not get smarter. Learn that the "instructions (magic spells)" are everything.

1. Bear-kun receives an amazing robot

Bear-kun received a shiny new "Shiritori Robot" as a birthday present.

"This is amazing! This robot can play shiritori with any word!"

2. The first "stumble"

Bear-kun immediately tried to talk to the robot.

Bear-kun: "Hey, let's play shiritori! Apple!"

Robot: (Silence...)

The robot remained silent.

Then, Squirrel-chan came over. She read the manual and said this:

"I get it! This robot is super strong, but it's a little shy. So, if you don't properly tell it ","what it should do", it gets nervous and can't move!"

Squirrel-chan showed him an example.
"You are the world's greatest shiritori master. Please start with 'apple'."

And then, what do you know!

Robot: "Gorilla!"

Bear-kun was overjoyed and continued the shiritori game.

3. Bear-kun's new challenge

The next day, Bear-kun thought of a new game.

"That's it! It would be even more fun if we only used names of 'fruits' for shiritori!"

Bear-kun said to the robot:
"We're only using fruits for shiritori! Here I go, watermelon!"

Robot: "Turtle!"

Bear-kun: "Oh no, that's wrong! A turtle isn't a fruit!"

Robot: "Medaka (rice fish)!"

The robot just kept playing regular shiritori.

"It's no use... I guess this rule is too hard..."

Just as Bear-kun was feeling down, Squirrel-chan came by again.

4. The true power of the "magic spell"

Squirrel-chan, who heard the story, smiled.

"Bear-kun, you're close! The trick to that new rule is to say everything in the initial magic spell."

Squirrel-chan showed him an example once more.

"You are a fruit expert! From now on, please play shiritori using only fruit names. Start with 'watermelon'!"

The robot seemed to think for a moment with a whirring sound, but then answered clearly.

Robot: "Leave it to me, I am a fruit expert. Watermelon... ka... persimmon!"

Bear-kun: "Yay! That's a fruit name!"

When Bear-kun continued with "kiwi!", the robot correctly replied with "fig!", playing the shiritori game perfectly using only fruits.

5. Who really got smarter...

After they finished playing, Bear-kun said with great excitement:

"Squirrel-chan, look! I taught the robot the difficult rule of 'fruit-only', so it studied it and remembered it perfectly! I raised it, so that's why it got so smart!"

Then, Squirrel-chan shook her head quietly.

"No, Bear-kun. That's not it at all."

"The robot doesn't even understand that 'fruit' is food, not even by a millimeter."

Bear-kun: "Whaaat!? But it didn't make a single mistake!"

Squirrel-chan pointed to Bear-kun's final magic spell.

"That's not because the robot is smart, but because your ","magic spell" was perfect. The robot was just following it exactly, so it couldn't have made a mistake."

Bear-kun was struck by the realization.

"I see...! It's not that the robot got smarter, it's that my 'magic spell' got better!"

Summary

The reason the robot seemed to get smarter is entirely because your "magic spell" got better.

By using the magic spell "Be a shiritori master!", you decided the robot's role.

By using the magic spell "Only fruits!", you taught it all the rules for the words it should use.

What's amazing isn't the AI that learned difficult rules.

It's you, who thought up the perfect "magic spell" to make sure the AI wouldn't make mistakes.

【Squirrel-chan's Secret Memo: 3 Tips for a Good Magic Spell】

1. "You are a [Role]" - Decide its role. (e.g., Shiritori master, Fruit expert)

2. "Start with [Word]" - Tell it where to start.

3. "Only use [Category]" - Teach it all the important rules at the very beginning.

To the next "mystery"

Bear was completely convinced.

"I see! It was all thanks to my magic spell!"

Then, Squirrel tilted her head in wonder.

"But, Bear. There is still one big mystery left."

"The robot shouldn't know at all what a 'fruit' is, so how did it know that a 'persimmon' was a fruit and not a 'turtle'?"

The secret is hidden in a mysterious 'map of words' that the robot has inside its head.

Next time, let's take a look at that map together.

If you liked this article, show your support with a like! It will cheer up Bear and Squirrel too 🌞