A new artificial intelligence system proves that the whole technology is off to an impressive start. There is a reason scientists and Silicon Valley veterans fear that artificial intelligence could take over humanity in the future. A new AI system called GeoS has correctly answered 49% of SAT geometry questions. That’s on par with the average performance of a human student taking the same test.
GeoS can analyze and interpret diagrams and text
The AI system was created by the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. If the geometry results were extrapolated to the entire math test, GeoS would get an SAT score of 500 out of 800, the Allen Institute said in a statement. Notably, the system was 61% accurate on practice test questions.
It may not seem impressive on the face value. But GeoS is capable of analyzing the text and diagrams it sees, and then it tries to figure out what the question is asking. Most importantly, it had to answer questions it had never encountered before. Analyzing diagrams was a tricky part because they mostly include implicit information not explained in the question.
Standardized tests a good way to evaluate artificial intelligence
Computers are good at running through formulas and crunching numbers, but analyzing and understanding geometrical problems is a whole different story. The Allen Institute CEO Oren Etzioni said standardized tests like the SAT are a good way to test artificial intelligence. These tests allow us to measure a machine’s ability to reason, and then compare its abilities with that of a human.
Researchers presented their work at a conference in Lisbon, Portugal. Though GeoS is far from world domination, it is a decent start because most of the AI technology has so far focused only on detecting patterns like voice recognition, facial recognition, etc.
GeoS is not the only AI system that can take high-school tests. The Allen Institute is also working on another system called Project Aristo. Fujitsu, IBM, Microsoft, and other companies have been working on their own artificial intelligence technologies.
