How Does Computer Processing Compare to Human Thinking?

927 Words2 Pages

How does Computer processing compare to Human thinking?
Have you ever wondered how computers process information as opposed to how the human brain does so? Are they actually “thinking” like a human or are they just organizing data? Can computers learn or even learn on their own? As a human race, we have thousands upon thousands of questions that we wish we could ask computers! Computers in the 21st century are becoming more and more advanced and we wonder, will they ever take over humanity? Will they ever be able to function like humans? What about experience feelings? At this point we don’t know, but some day we might find out. The way computers process information, and the way humans think are completely different, as said, computers only process information and humans are able to think complete thoughts and make decisions.
To begin with, Watson was a supercomputer, which was programmed to compete in the game “Jeopardy!” Watson, a room-sized supercomputer competed against Ken Jennings, who is famous for successfully winning 74 games in a row on “Jeopardy!” and Brad Rutter. Watson was an early form of AI, which stands for artificial intelligence. Ultimately, Watson ended up winning the game of “Jeopardy!” which came with both positive and negative responses. Furthermore, Stanley Fish wrote a column in the New York Times stating his feelings about Watson. Fish believes that computers are nothing more than calculation. For example, he states, “It has a program [his computer] that directs it to finish words before I do by “consulting” a data base of words I have used that begin with the letters I have already typed. “Consulting” is in quotation marks because the computer isn’t doing anything that requires intelligence as opposed t...

... middle of paper ...

... of instructions, it does, no matter the outcome. The outcome could be detrimental to its own “well-being” and it would still perform the task. Computers have no sense of right or wrong, or good or bad; they simply follow the instructions they were told to do and are unable to break the rules.
In conclusion, most information points to the opinion that computers do not think, they clearly process data. Artificial intelligence still has a long way to come, and maybe some day we will see computers that can “think” on their own and process information the way the human brain does. Until then, we have to accept the fact that computers today, are unable to think for themselves. Computers are programmed for a set of directions or processes and that is how they work. Hopefully some day we will see computers that can think for themselves but until then we can only dream.

Open Document