>[!abstract] >The Moravec paradox, articulated by Hans Moravec and others in the 1980s, observes that tasks humans find intellectually difficult (like reasoning, algebra, or chess) are relatively easy to automate with computers, while tasks we find effortless (like perception, movement, or social intuition) are extremely hard to replicate in machines. The paradox arises because evolution devoted vast resources to perfecting sensorimotor and intuitive skills over millions of years, while abstract reasoning is a recent, lightweight adaptation. It highlights a mismatch between human intuitions about difficulty and the actual computational challenges of artificial intelligence, shaping expectations about robotics and automation. >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): [[Artificial intelligence research]] >- **West** (similar): [[Polanyi’s paradox]] >- **East** (different): [[Symbolic AI optimism]] (the belief that high-level reasoning is the hardest problem and once solved, other skills would follow) >- **South** (downstream): —