Can Computer Think? :: essays research papers

Can Computers Think? The mooring For and Against Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence has been the subject of many questioning "80s" movies and countless science fiction novels. But what happens when we seriously consider the question of computers that think. Is it possible for computers to have complex thoughts, and even emotions, manage humanity sapien? This piece of music will seek to answer that question and also look at what attempts are being made to make artificial intelligence (hereafter called AI) a reality. Before we can investigate whether or not computers can think, it is inevitable to establish what exactly thinking is. Examining the three main theories is sort of like examining three religions. N 1 offers enough support so as to effectively eliminate the possibility of the others being true. The three main theories are 1. design doesnt exist enough said. 2. Thought does exist, but is contained wholly in the brain. In other words, the actual material of the brain is capable of what we identify as thought. 3. Thought is the result of some sort of mystical phenomena involving the soul and a whole slew of other unprovable ideas. Since neither reader nor author is a scientist, for all intents and purposes, we will say solitary(prenominal) that thought is what we (as homo sapien) experience. So what are we to consider intelligence? The most compelling communication channel is that intelligence is the ability to adapt to an environment. Desktop computers can, say, go to a precise WWW address. But, if the address were changed, it wouldnt k directly how to go about finding the bare-assed one (or even that it should). So intelligence is the ability to perform a task taking into consideration the circumstances of completing the task. So now that we have all of that out of that way, can computers think? The issue is repugn as hotly among scientists as the advantages of Superman over Batman is among pre-pubescent boys. On the one hand are the scientists who say, as philosopher John Searle does, that Programs are all syntax and no semantics. (Discover, 106) Put another way, a computer can really achieve thought because it merely follows rules that tell it how to shift symbols without ever intelligence the meaning of those symbols. (Discover, 106) On the other side of the debate are the advocates of pandemonium, explained by Robert Wright in Time thus Our brain subconsciously generates competing theories about the world, and only the winning theory becomes part of consciousness.