Blog 2: Intelligent Computers

We are currently living in a world where the human brain is still the most complex piece of hardware out there available for use, but slowly but surely, the computer is overtaking it.  Lloyd Watts is currently one of the leading individuals in the creation of these incredibly smart computers.  His company, Audience, which is located in Silicon Valley, has already created microchips for headsets that are able to enhance the sound of conversations in crowded places by basically removing the background noise.  They have based this microchip on the working of the human inner ear.  With this advancement already being made, it is not difficult to imagine a computer that rivals or beats the mental capacity of the human brain.  Many people actually believe that Watt's ideas and innovations will completely change the way computers are designed.  Computers clearly can do certain things, such as mathematical computations and other operations much faster and more efficiently than the mind of a human, but they are still lacking in conceptually understanding and sorting out that information the way a human brain can only do.

In my opinion, it is almost scary to think about just how quickly computers are becoming more and more intelligent.  Do we really want our computers to be able to work in the same way that our minds do?  I do not want to make it sound like some kind of science fiction horror story, but computers that are able to work like a human mind are a slightly disturbing thought.  However, most scientists believe that this innovation will not come quickly.  Most realize that the workings of the human brain are far too complicated to make this technology arise without difficulty.  However, I do not doubt that this technology will be upon us before we know it.  I do believe that in the long run these computers will benefit us just as computers today do, but it is important that all the kinks are worked out before this occurs.  If a computer is able to access situations and make decisions based on this processing, then we have to make sure that they are working properly in all aspects.

It was even expected that the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects agency was going to offer IBM a 4.9 million grant for this purpose.  Clearly this funding from the government shows that they are looking to use this potential advancement to the advantage of the country.  These include monitoring battlefields and observing weather patterns.  It is reasonable to assume that soon more and more money will be invested in these intelligent computers, which will be able to do so much more than computers now can do.  Although, I assume at first these computers will only be used by the government before they make their way to individual sale to consumers.  While these scientists may be right about these intelligent computers being years or even decades away, the assumed eventual creation of these computers will certainly change the way we think about them.

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_48/b4110092474021.htm?chan=technology+index+page_top+stories