[Juan-H]

Do you believe that computers can think, or can they only compute, and follow commands? What’s your opinion?

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Name : Juan-H, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : Paralyzed, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 16, City : Blenhiem, State : NA, Country : Canada, Occupation : Student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Christopher-D32098]

I see my computer as a machine like any other appliance. A silicon-based machine will never have the ability to think or possess feelings.

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Name : Christopher-D32098, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 23, City : Arlington, State : TX, Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Jim30719]

Juan: Don’t we “only compute and follow commands”? The only distinction is in the quality of programming by those who wrote the program.

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Name : Jim30719, Gender : M, City : Columbia, State : SC, Country : United States, 

[Danielle Koukos]

I disagree. Our parents, teachers, whoever, guide us, but final decisions on how to act and who to be are made by us. That’s what sets us (humans) apart from all other creatures, machines, etc. – the fact that we can reason. I would hate to think that humans are just a product of good or bad programming. Can you honestly say that you are?

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Name : Danielle Koukos, Gender : F, Race : X, Age : 24, City : Lakehurst, State : NJ, Country : United States, Occupation : Systems Analyst, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[jim30726]

Danielle: Please give my comment a little more consideration. Frnstance: Did each of us CREATE an ORIGINAL THOUGHT in answer to the question (Do computers think)? I’d sure like to think so but my ego is not big enough. I’m a product of whatever I’ve experienced.

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Name : jim30726, City : columbia, State : SC, Country : United States, 

[P.O.S.]

They can only do what they’re programmed to do. No more, no less.

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Name : P.O.S., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Age : 27, City : Boston, State : MA, Country : United States, Occupation : Software engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Scott]

I don’t know what you have for a computer, but mine has the IQ of a head of lettuce. It gratifies me to no end that there is some bit of ‘magic’ inside us that results in intelligence, and no matter how many calculations per second a computer can perform, it doesn’t possess that magic.

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Name : Scott, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 35, City : Bucksport, State : ME, Country : United States, Occupation : Custodian, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[ER]

Computers are just machines like cars, trains, etc. As long as a computer cannot decide that flower A is nicer today than flower B or vice-versa, they will remain stupid, silly machines that follow commands. Some software programs were written to help computers ‘decide’ what is better, but unless it is in the program, computers won’t know it. Let’s see a computer go to the store and say ‘Hi, I like the Campbell’s Soup today more than XYZ because it tasts better.’ As long as they don’t have our senses (smell, vision, etc.) and as long as computers don’t use them as people use them, computers will remain computers. Although some people might say we are following programs, too, they forget that sometimes they wake up in the morning in a mood, and sometimes not. Sometimes they want to watch TV, and sometimes they are too tired to do so. So if people want to see themselves as computers, let them do that, but don’t think that computers are people. Use your brain to think and not just to follow orders!

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Name : ER, City : Edison, State : NJ, Country : United States, 

[Patrick-W19888]

Jim’s right. The way we function is very much like a computer. Or perhaps it’s the computer that functions much like us. Scientists in the Artificial Intelligence field have been constantly attempting to create computers that ‘think’ like humans. For the most part, algorithms have been based on deductive logic. However, recently programmers have developed the concept of inductive inference programming, which is essentially an attempt at mimicking normal human response to stimuli. So, yes, I believe as computer architectures become more complex and dynamic, they will eventually be able to ‘think’ independently. Some scientists believe computers will eventually be able to upgrade their own unit or architectures. This is saying that computers will eventually have the ability to evolve. Scary thought.

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Name : Patrick-W19888, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 19, City : Toronto, Ontario, State : NA, Country : Canada, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class, 

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