Can computers think?

Armando Teran Jr


8/30/10

English 215

Can computers think?

Marvin Minsky is attempting to someday create a machine with intelligence that will excel the human brain. Minsky is in the process of making a neural network and computer program with hopes of this new technology to excel human capabilities in the brain. Being that Minsky “is one of the founding fathers of artificial intelligence” (Minsky pg 116) there are good reasons to believe that his machine will eventually pass human abilities of the brain. Minsky’s idea revolves around neural networks. According to Minsky “neural networks are not programmed instead they learn to solve problems” (Minsky pg 117). The machine with artificial intelligence that Minsky plans to develop, he claims can solve problems much faster than a person.

According to Minsky “the human brain has only limited records of what it has been doing recently” (Minsky pg 120). Minsky is claiming that the machine he develops could store more information, but he state that it may not be smarter. I do not think that Minsky’s machine will be more intelligent than human beings despite their purpose. The machine may be able to solve certain problems quicker but it can’t complete simple tasks that only a person can complete. I would not rely entirely on a machine to complete a task; I would use the machine as an asset to complete tasks.

I think that Minsky is very ambitious in his attempt to develop a machine with artificial intelligence, but a machine can never replace a human. The reason for my belief is a machine can never do certain tasks that a person can do outside of their purpose. Minsky’s ideas are complex but can be achieved. He poses interesting propositions pertaining to his research. I have never heard of these ideas before. I would have to say that a machine can never replace a human.