Let us imagine an experiment. We transport some engineers from the 1890's to the present time. Then we give them a ride on a 747 airplane. After that they return to 1890. Having experienced flight in an airplane, they now know it is possible and want to build some planes in their own time.This is problematic. The engineers recall the heavy metal bird from the future. So they conclude that weight is not a problem in propelling planes. They also fondly remember the plush seats inside the plane. The engineers design that into their primitive 1890 plane. Finally they recall that steel was used extensively in the 747. They take their own 19th century steel, and try to form an airplane. The result? Fail.
The whole exercise is to get you to understand how an observer of something that works does not necessarily gain the deep knowledge required to replicate the technology. The same probably holds true for Artificial Intelligence. You can study an intelligent being like man. However that does not mean you are any further in developing AI. In fact, you might be tripped up by your limited understanding and go down the wrong path. You got to take those baby steps like the Wright brothers. Otherwise you may never even get off the ground.
