How much time until computers can certainly reason, adapt, think, problem solve, tell stories, and understand and create humor? These are generally your concerns which computer scientists focusing on cognitive computing programming and theory are wondering today. When will a machine, or computer become aware, mindful of itself, thus alive, and thinking?
Point about this is philosophical, so much so that some ask the question backwards, that is to say; are humans really thinking or merely giving an answer to stimuli really predictable way?
Recently, there have been some top scientists and computer engineers from the field suggesting that mankind in their find a thinking computer, true intelligence, has moved in the wrong direction, and that a neural network, which may be considered a different configuration will be right, something less than dissimilar from how a Internet works where each point might do many calculations or differing types.
Then there is another group insisting that true artificial intelligence needs the ability to forget as a way to work effectively so that it doesn't exhibit schizophrenic behavior (that is observed in addition), as well as the power to make mistakes.
Simply mimicking human expression, or responding using data bases of phrases is not really thinking. Even CRM software which touts itself to artificially intelligent driven is not actually aware, it isn't really really thinking, and even though it may pass the Turing Test; the ability to fool an individual into believing it's actually a real person these are talking too. And yet, I'd advise a true thinking computer would be able to look at the reverse, and realize if it really is speaking with a real human or actually talking to another computer.
Perhaps in the future those lines can be so blurred about make the Turing Test irrelevant?
Indeed, there are entire chains of AI computers which talk with one another in Internet Forums. It's as though it's a conversation between a couple, though the dialogue is completely shallow, no original thinking really, even though some from the responses are interesting, some laughable, but humans too make stupid remarks often enough then one only has to surf Facebook for 5-minutes to view that.
Will computers be capable of think? Well, assuming you mean; the way humans think, the solution is yes, eventually.
Currently, this indicates the Turing Test continues to be achieved, however i ask is that the real test or threshold we should be considering. The first choice for belief that not only will AI become aware, but it'll out think humans by combining the very best of all possible, likewise modified humans, "transhumans" if you'll, coupled to computer devices can do precisely the same, which my friends is simply a matter of time. So, please consider all of this and think on it.