Is it possible to create an artificial intelligence that is as smart as humans without encoding all of human knowledge into it?

Yes, it is possible to create artificial intelligence that is as smart as humans without encoding all of the human knowledge into it. This approach is known as "machine learning" and involves training an AI system using large amounts of data and algorithms that allow it to learn from the data and improve its performance over time.

In machine learning, the AI system is trained using a large dataset of examples that are annotated with the correct output. The system then learns from these examples and uses the patterns it discovers in the data to make predictions or generate new outputs.

One of the key advantages of machine learning is that it can enable AI systems to learn from the world in much the same way that humans do, without requiring prior knowledge to be encoded into the system. This allows AI systems to discover new patterns and relationships that were previously unknown, and to adapt to new and changing situations.

However, it is important to note that while machine learning can enable AI systems to achieve human-level performance on certain tasks, such as image recognition or language processing, it does not necessarily result in general intelligence that can match the full range of human cognitive abilities. Creating an AI system with human-like intelligence remains a major research challenge, and it is unclear whether such a system can be created without a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying human cognition.