Are "thinking" or "learning" computers simply a next logical step in computer evolution?

  This week's guest Question comes from INSIDER reader Kenneth Polcak: IBM has recently developed prototypes of energy-efficient computer chips that emulate the synapses, neurons, and learning functions of the human brain. IBM's Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics (SyNAPSE) project seeks to mimic the functions of the brain on a new type of highly efficient processing chip. It uses advanced algorithms and silicon circuitry to create computers that could function without set programming and could "learn through experiences, find correlations, create hypotheses, and remember - and learn from - the outcomes." Such a system could, for example, monitor the world's waters via a network of sensors monitoring temperature, water pressure, or wave heights, and use that information to predict or detect tsunamis. Many believe this development is the next logical step in the technological progression of computer evolution, while others view this as a dangerous step with unknown or unintended consequences.   What do you think? Are "thinking" or "learning" computers simply a next logical step in computer evolution? Yes or no?    RESULTS

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