Abstract
We will soon be surrounded by artificial systems capable of cognitive performance rivaling or exceeding a human expert in specific domains of discourse. However, these cogs need not be capable of full general artificial intelligence nor able to function in a stand-alone manner. Instead, cogs and humans will work together in collaboration each compensating for the weaknesses of the other and together achieve synthetic expertise as an ensemble. This paper reviews the nature of expertise, the Expertise Level to describe the skills required of an expert, and knowledge stores required by an expert. By collaboration, cogs augment human cognitive ability in a human/cog ensemble. This paper introduces six Levels of Cognitive Augmentation to describe the balance of cognitive processing in the human/cog ensemble. Because these cogs will be available to the mass market via common devices and inexpensive applications, they will lead to the Democratization of Expertise and a new cognitive systems era promising to change how we live, work, and play. The future will belong to those best able to communicate, coordinate, and collaborate with cognitive systems.
Overview
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Fulbright and Walters explore the enhancement of human cognitive abilities through collaborations with specialized AI systems, termed 'cogs'.
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The paper investigates what expertise involves and how AI can augment human cognition, proposing six levels of cognitive augmentation.
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It introduces 'synthetic expertise' as a potentiality where human-AI collaborations could match or exceed human expert levels in certain domains.
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The authors envision cogs as a means to democratize expertise, making it widely accessible and possibly disrupting traditional skill acquisition.
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The paper ends by pondering future societal impacts, changes to professions, education, research, and legal considerations regarding cognitive property rights.
Introduction
In their work, Fulbright and Walters from the University of South Carolina Upstate discuss the evolving interface between humans and AI, specifically in the context of enhancing human cognitive abilities with the help of artificial systems or 'cogs'. They assert that these cogs do not need to be fully autonomous AI but specialized entities collaborating with humans to achieve 'synthetic expertise'.
The Nature of Expertise and Cognitive Augmentation
The paper examines the essence of what constitutes expertise and how the collaboration between humans and AI can augment human cognitive capabilities. It highlights historical advancements, ranging from Pascal's mechanical calculators to IBM's Watson and Google's AlphaGo, which illustrate the progression toward more collaborative cognitive systems. The authors propose that 'cogs' and humans working together can effectively compensate for each other's shortcomings. They introduce a model to describe the expertise level, including the skills and knowledge required by an expert.
Furthermore, they describe six Levels of Cognitive Augmentation to measure the balance between cognitive processing performed by humans versus cogs within such ensembles. These levels range from no augmentation, where humans do all the cognitive work, to fully artificial intelligence, where cogs operate independently of human input.
Synthetic Expertise and Its Implications
With the notion of 'synthetic expertise', the authors suggest that artificial entities, combined with human input, could potentially achieve or surpass human expert performance in specific domains. The collaborative systems they describe are not merely tools but are capable of some high-level cognitive processes traditionally reserved for humans. Because these cogs will be accessible via common devices and applications, they have the potential to democratize expertise by making high-level cognitive processing widely available to the general public. This would enable individuals to achieve expert-level performance in many areas without years of specialized training.
Future Considerations
The paper concludes with a look at the potential societal impact, discussing how 'synthetic expertise' could disrupt traditional professions, create new markets for personal cogs, and alter our conception of educational and research methodologies. It posits that knowledge will become a commodity and expertise will be available to the masses. Additionally, it leaves readers with thoughts on future research directions, including human-cog interactions, the evolution of fundamental skills, and potential legal questions surrounding cognitive property rights.
In summary, this examination of synthetic expertise invites an understanding of how the future may unfold as AI becomes more entwined in our daily lives, functioning as collaborators rather than mere tools and reshaping traditional notions of expertise.
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