How long until computers can actually reason, adapt, think, problem solve, tell stories, and understand and produce humor? These are all questions which computer scientists working on artificial intelligence systems programming and theory are asking themselves today. When does a machine, or computer become aware, alert to itself, thus alive, and thinking?
Point about this is philosophical, a case in point that some ask the question backwards, that is to say; are humans really thinking or merely addressing stimuli in an exceedingly predictable way?
Recently, there were some top scientists and computer engineers in the field suggesting that mankind as part of his visit a thinking computer, true intelligence, has moved from the wrong direction, and that a neural network, which would be a different configuration could be more appropriate, something much less dissimilar from the way the Internet works where each point might do many calculations or different kinds.
Plus there is another group insisting that true artificial intelligence needs to be able to forget to be able to be effective so that it doesn't exhibit schizophrenic behavior (that is observed incidentally), along with the power to get some things wrong.
Simply mimicking human expression, or responding using data bases of phrases isn't thinking. Even CRM software which touts itself being artificially intelligent driven isn't really aware, it isn't really really thinking, and even though it might pass the Turing Test; to be able to fool an individual into believing it's a real person they are talking too. But, I'd advise a true thinking computer can think about the reverse, and realize whether or not it is talking to a real human or speaking to another computer.
Perhaps in the foreseeable future all those lines can become so blurred about make the Turing Test irrelevant?
Indeed, there have been entire chains of AI computers which talk with the other person in Internet Forums. It appears like it is a conversation between 2 different people, however the dialogue is completely shallow, and no original thinking really, although some people might in the responses are interesting, some laughable, but humans too make stupid remarks often enough the other only needs to surf Facebook for 5-minutes to find out that.
Will computers ever be capable of think? Well, assuming you mean; just how humans think, the answer then is yes, eventually.
Currently, it seems the Turing Test continues to be achieved, on the other hand ask is that the real test or threshold we should be considering. It's my thought that not simply will AI become aware, but it'll out think humans by combining good both worlds, likewise modified humans, "transhumans" for a moment, coupled to computer devices will do precisely the same, knowning that my girlfriends is just a few time. So, please consider all of this and think into it.