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The Little Thoughts of Thinking Machines

First published in Psychology Today in 1983, this is a popular article with no formulas.

Ever since Descartes, philosophically minded people have wrestled with the question of whether it is possible for machines to think. As we interact more and more with computers - both personal computers and others - the questions of whether machines can think and what kind of thoughts they can have become ever more pertinent. We can ask whether machines remember, believe, know, intend, like or dislike, want, understand, promise, owe, have rights or duties, or deserve rewards or punishment. Is this an all-or-nothing question, or can we say that some machines do some of these things and not others, or that they do them to some extent?

My answer is based on work in the field of artificial intelligence (usually abbreviated AI) which is the science and engineering of making computers solve problems and behave in ways generally considered to be intelligent.

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