The length of time until computers can certainly reason, adapt, think, problem solve, tell stories, and understand and provide humor? These are generally all questions which computer scientists working on cognitive computing programming and theory are thinking about today. When will a machine, or laptop or computer become aware, aware of itself, thus alive, and thinking?
Much of this is philosophical, so much in fact that some ask the question in reverse, this means; are humans really thinking or merely responding to stimuli really predictable way?
Recently, there have been some top scientists and computer engineers inside the field suggesting that mankind in their visit a thinking computer, true intelligence, has moved from the wrong direction, which a neural network, which will be a very different configuration will be appropriate, something less than dissimilar from how a Internet works where each point might do many calculations or different types.
As there are another group insisting that true artificial intelligence needs the ability to forget in order to work effectively therefore it doesn't exhibit schizophrenic behavior (that has been observed in addition), along with the capacity to make mistakes.
Simply mimicking human expression, or responding using data bases of phrases isn't thinking. Even CRM software which touts itself to be artificially intelligent driven isn't really aware, it is not really thinking, and even though it may pass the Turing Test; a chance to fool a person's into believing it's actually a real person they may be talking too. Nevertheless, I'd advise a true thinking computer could possibly take into account the reverse, and realize if it really is conversing with a real human or speaking with another computer.
Perhaps in the future all those lines will become so blurred as to make the Turing Test irrelevant?
Indeed, there were entire chains of AI computers which talk to each other in Internet Forums. It appears as though it is just a conversation between two people, though the dialogue is completely shallow, no original thinking really, although some people might with the responses are interesting, some laughable, but humans too make stupid remarks often enough and one only needs to surf Facebook for 5-minutes to find out that.
Will computers ever be capable to think? Well, assuming you mean; just how humans think, the solution is yes, eventually.
Currently, this indicates the Turing Test has been achieved, however ask would be that the real test or threshold we should be considering. It is my thought not merely will AI become aware, however it will out think humans by combining good all possible worlds, likewise modified humans, "transhumans" if you will, coupled to computer devices will perform the same, and that my girlfriends is just a few time. So, please consider all of this and think onto it.