All of this has happened before

…and all of it will happen again

Are the Cylons coming?

I love science fiction. I claim it as my favorite genre, mostly for books but also for movies. I’ve especially enjoyed the exploration of machine versus human in television works like Battlestar Galactica.

As a person who enjoys the use and evolution of language, I have been both perplexed and impressed witnessing the rebranding of LLM technology as “Artificial Intelligence.” I prefer to use the term machine intelligence.

“Artificial intelligence” and “machine intelligence” are closely related terms often used interchangeably, yet they carry different conceptual emphases and historical contexts.

Artificial Intelligence is the more established and widely recognized term, coined by John McCarthy in 1956. It emphasizes the creation of systems that can perform tasks typically requiring human intelligence—reasoning, learning, perception, and decision-making. The “artificial” aspect highlights that these capabilities are engineered rather than naturally occurring. AI encompasses a broad range of approaches, from symbolic reasoning and expert systems to modern machine learning and neural networks.

Machine Intelligence, by contrast, emphasizes the computational and mechanistic aspects of intelligent behavior. This term focuses more on the underlying processes and mechanisms that enable intelligent behavior in machines, rather than human-like outcomes. It encompasses both AI systems and broader computational approaches to intelligence, including distributed systems, swarm intelligence, and emergent behaviors from simple rules.

The key differences lie in their framing: AI is often anthropocentric, measuring success against human cognitive abilities and seeking to replicate or surpass human-level performance. Machine intelligence takes a more mechanistic view, focusing on how computational systems can exhibit intelligent behavior through their own unique processes, which may not mirror human cognition at all.

In practice, these terms appear synonymously in technical literature and industry contexts. However, “machine intelligence” typically appears in discussions emphasizing engineering and computational aspects, while “artificial intelligence” dominates conversations about cognitive capabilities, ethics, and societal impact.

Both concepts ultimately describe computational systems that can adapt, learn, and solve problems, but they represent different philosophical approaches to understanding and developing intelligent machines.

Forgive me if this seems pedantic. I’m pursuing precision of language—a task that often feels Sisyphean, yet necessary.

I think it’s important to consider the contrasting goals of artificial intelligence and machine intelligence. Capitalism and aritficial intelligence will create a hellscape benefitting a few. Maybe there’s a better society if more people start thinking about machine intelligence.

BSG feel apt to reference in this discourse because the show explores themes of consciousness, the nature of intelligence, and the blurry line between human and machine.

BSG Quotes for your consideration

There’s a reason you separate military and the police. One fights the enemies of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people. Commander William Adama

Brother Cavil In all your travels, have you ever seen a star go supernova?

Ellen Tigh No.

Brother Cavil No? Well, I have. I saw a star explode and send out the building blocks of the Universe. Other stars, other planets and eventually other life. A supernova! Creation itself! I was there. I wanted to see it and be part of the moment. And you know how I perceived one of the most glorious events in the universe? With these ridiculous gelatinous orbs in my skull! With eyes designed to perceive only a tiny fraction of the EM spectrum. With ears designed only to hear vibrations in the air.

Ellen Tigh The five of us designed you to be as human as possible.

Brother Cavil I don’t want to be human! I want to see gamma rays! I want to hear X-rays! And I want to - I want to smell dark matter! Do you see the absurdity of what I am? I can’t even express these things properly because I have to - I have to conceptualize complex ideas in this stupid limiting spoken language! But I know I want to reach out with something other than these prehensile paws! And feel the wind of a supernova flowing over me! I’m a machine! And I can know much more! I can experience so much more. But I’m trapped in this absurd body! And why? Because my five creators thought that God wanted it that way!