Joseph Sifakis – Testing System Intelligence

Abstract

We discuss the adequacy of system intelligence tests and practical problems raised by their implementation. We propose the replacement test as the ability of a system to replace successfully another system performing a task in a given context. We show how this test can be used to compare aspects of human and machine intelligence that cannot be taken into account by the Turing test. We argue that building systems passing the replacement test involves a series of technical problems that are outside the scope of current AI. We present a framework for implementing the proposed test and validating system properties. We discuss the inherent limitations of AI system validation and advocate new theoretical foundations for extending existing rigorous test methods.

We suggest that the replacement test, based on the complementarity of skills between human and machine, can lead to a multitude of intelligence concepts reflecting the ability to combine data-based and symbolic knowledge to varying degrees.

Prof. Joseph Sifakis
(Verimag, CNRS)

Professor Joseph Sifakis is Emeritus Research Director at Verimag. He has been a full professor at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) for the period 2011-2016. He is the founder of the Verimag laboratory in Grenoble, a leading laboratory in the area of safety critical systems that he directed for 13 years.

Joseph Sifakis has made significant and internationally recognized contributions to the design of trustworthy systems in many application areas, including avionics and space systems, telecommunications, and production systems. His current research focuses on autonomous systems, in particular self-driving cars and autonomous telecommunication systems. In 2007, he received the Turing Award, recognized as the “highest distinction in computer science”, for his contribution to the theory and application of model checking, the most widely used system verification technique.

Joseph Sifakis is a member of six academies and a frequent speaker at international scientific, technical and public forums.