Abstract

Almost seven decades ago, (Turing, in Mind 59:433–460, 1950) posed the far-reaching question: “Can machines think?” Well, it depends, Turing, elaborates, on what we mean by “machines” and what we mean by “thinking”. Thinking, more specifically rational thinking, is seen as a hallmark of human intelligence. A major philosophical endeavour then is to analyse the defining criteria of ‘intelligence’ and to see whether this definition could be universalized, extending to machines as well. Intelligence can be said to be constituted of two components—decision-making and reasoning, both related to rationality. So, the question now becomes, “Are machines rational?” That is, if machines can reason, think, and make decisions as efficiently as humans, can they be called ‘rational’? The aim of this chapter is to argue for AI by considering decision theory in AI where Scenario thinking (the ability to predict the future) is a key attribute of intelligent behaviour in machines as well as humans. Based on the converging approach to intelligence in artificial systems and human reasoning, we can examine closely whether AI holds any insight into human reasoning and whether human actions themselves can be simulated through decision-making models in AI.