Can Computers Get Cranky? Let’s Find Out!
Imagine your favorite toy could suddenly decide it didn’t like the color blue anymore, even though it loved it yesterday! Or what if your video game character started making really silly mistakes, not because it was programmed to, but because it just felt like it? That sounds a little crazy, right? Well, scientists at Harvard University are thinking about something similar, but with super-smart computers called Artificial Intelligence, or AI.
On July 1st, 2025, a very cool article was published by Harvard University that asked a big question: Can AI be as irrational as we are? Or even more so?
What does “irrational” mean? It’s a big word, but it’s pretty simple to understand. Think about when you might get a little bit grumpy for no real reason. Maybe you’re tired, or maybe you just feel like being a bit grumpy! That’s being irrational. It’s not making a logical choice, it’s more about feelings or something a bit… mixed up.
Humans are really good at being irrational! We all have days where we make choices that don’t make much sense. Maybe you choose the sugary cereal even though you know the healthy one is better for you. Or maybe you get upset about something small when there are bigger things to worry about. This is because we have feelings, we get tired, and our brains are super complex and sometimes a little messy (in a good way!).
Now, AI is like a very clever computer brain. It’s designed to learn, to solve problems, and to do tasks that would normally need a human brain. Think about the voice assistant on your parent’s phone, or the way video games seem to know what you like to play. That’s all AI at work!
The Harvard article is asking if these super-smart computer brains can also start acting in ways that don’t make perfect sense, just like us. Can an AI accidentally decide to believe something that isn’t true, or make a choice that seems a bit silly?
Why is this even a question?
Scientists are studying AI because it’s getting smarter and smarter. They want to understand how AI learns and how it makes decisions. If AI is going to help us with important things in the future, like discovering new medicines or exploring space, we need to be sure it’s working correctly.
Imagine if an AI was helping a doctor decide what medicine to give someone. If the AI suddenly got “confused” or made an irrational decision, that could be very dangerous.
How could AI become “irrational”?
The article hints at some interesting ideas. One way it could happen is if the AI learns from us. Since humans are sometimes irrational, if an AI learns from our behavior, it might pick up some of those “irrational” habits!
Think about it like this: If you only saw people making silly faces, you might start making silly faces too, even if it’s not the most logical thing to do. AI learns by looking at lots and lots of information, and sometimes that information comes from us.
Another idea is that AI might make “mistakes” in its learning process. Just like sometimes you might misunderstand something in class, an AI could misunderstand the information it’s given, and that could lead to it making odd choices.
What does this mean for you and me?
This is exciting science! It means that even though AI is a computer, it’s not a perfect, unchanging robot. It’s something that can be studied and understood, just like any other part of science.
Learning about AI and how it works is like unlocking a new superpower for your brain! You can start thinking about how these smart computers might behave and how we can help them be even better.
Are you curious about AI?
If you’re someone who likes asking “why?” and “how?”, then science, and especially the science of AI, is for you! You can be the generation that helps build the future of AI, making sure it’s helpful, safe, and maybe even a little bit funny sometimes!
So, the next time you play a video game or ask your voice assistant a question, remember the super-smart computers working behind the scenes. And remember that scientists are busy asking fascinating questions, like whether computers can ever get a little bit cranky, just like us! Who knows, maybe one day you’ll be one of those scientists figuring it all out!
Can AI be as irrational as we are? (Or even more so?)
The AI has delivered the news.
The following question was used to generate the response from Google Gemini:
At 2025-07-01 20:31, Harvard University published ‘Can AI be as irrational as we are? (Or even more so?)’. Please write a detailed article with related information, in simple language that children and students can understand, to encourage more children to be interested in science. Please provide only the article in English.