Week 6

Some philosophers, including John Searle, say that computers are not really intelligent. Rather, they just simulate intelligence. However, it could be argued that, just as computers are programmed to respond in different ways to different commands, so human beings are 'programmed' by society, and education, to perform certain tasks. For example, we are programmed to do complicated things like speak a language, as well as more simply things like brush our teeth.

What are your thoughts on this comparison? Is there any difference between the programming of computers, and the 'programming' of humans by society?

Yes, there is a difference, but there are also a lot of similarities. As a former computer programmer I know a thing or two about this. Programmers can make a computer performed just about anything to helps us alleviate our daily painful routines , but you cannot make a computer feel, love, make life decision or even to have will power. Yes, we can also be programmed to learn, follow rules, etc., but we have a choice not do it, and that to me is where the line gets drowned. A computer will not ever have a choice, because programmer will preload those in and randomly the computer chooses, just like Alice the artificial intelligence program. It is not that hard to quickly confuse those programs until it changes the topic randomly.