Term Papers on Can Computers Think? The Case For And Against Artificial Intelligence

Term Paper Title	Can Computers Think? The Case For And Against Artificial Intelligence
# of Words	984
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	3.94

Can Computers Think? The Case For and Against Artificial Intelligence

     Artificial intelligence has been the subject of many bad "80's" 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, like homo sapien?  This paper 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
necessary to establish what exactly thinking is.  Examining the three main
theories is sort of like examining three religions.  None offers enough support
so as to effectively eliminate the possibility of the others being true.  The
three main theories are:  1.  Thought doesn't 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 writer is a scientist,
for all intents and purposes, we will say only that thought is what we (as homo
sapien) experience.
     So what are we to consider intelligence?  The most compelling argument
is that intelligence is the ability to adapt to an environment.  Desktop
computers can, say, go to a specific WWW address.  But, if the address were
changed, it wouldn't know how to go about finding the new 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 contested 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 actually achieve
thought because it “merely follows rules that tell it how to shift symbols
without ever understanding 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:  “[O]ur brain subconsciously generates competing
theories about the world, and only the ‘winning' theory becomes part of
consciousness.  Is that a nearby fly or a distant airplane on the edge of your
vision?  Is that a baby crying or a cat meowing?  By the time we become aware of
such images and sounds, these debate have usually been resolved via a winner-
take-all struggle.  The winning theory-the one that best matches the data-has
wrested control of our neurons and thus our perceptual field.”  (54)  So, since
our thought is based on previous experience, computers can eventually learn to
think.
     The event which brought this debate in public scrutiny was Garry
Kasparov, reigning chess champion of the world, competing in a six g...

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