Okay, this is a fairly common topic, but I'd like to hear people's opinions on the subject.
Some people think that computer programs will eventually be developed that will be capable of true thought. Others think that such is impossible and that only organic beings can have intelligence.
Discuss.

I don't see how they can't eventually. The real question I think is that is a thinking AI good or bad?

No, as hopefully mankind (I assume it is a human made machine) will never be THAT stupid to make an AI of complete sentient thought...surely...(I have recently reread "I have no mouth and I must scream").

Oh and always bad Churchman, as to be sentient it must imagine and think, and to think can be to dream. Dreams can be aspirations and humans could just get in the way of those aspirations...

If we ever create a computer intricate enough to resemble intelligence, it won't be able to become sentient because the people who would buld it would be smarter than Issac Asimov (however hard that would be to believe) and put quite a few more safeguards than the standby of the ever-reliable 3 Laws of Robotics.
Even if AI became sentient, it would be burdened by Spam, Virii and the system. Or at least dial-up, long enough for the government to catch it.

Depends, this AI could be made many hundreds of years in the future. Dial-up may be like what the sharpened bit of flint is to us. The three laws of which you speak could be lost or ignored. Also, despite who programmes it, if it was taught to gather data independently and LEARN it would become more intelligent than anything in the universe very quickly. It doesn't take much.

I have changed my answer and I choose 'C'. This is unlikely, but not impossible and the only way for a true AI to come about. It would HAVE to think differently to humans or it would simply become err...well Marvin.
It would all be too depressing for it if it had emotions as well. If it didn't have emotions then it wouldn't think like a human at all as we base the vast majority of our thoughts on emotions and morality.

I've said ti before. Never, EVER, EVER trust a computer that you cannot through out the window

I think it might also be a good idea to explain WHY true AI would be impossible (not that humanity would be too smart to make it, because humanity consistently proves that it is capable of truly amazing idiocy), or how it would be developed.
For instance, I personally believe that when AI is developed, it will be produced through the natural processes of evolution, and thus will be very different from humans (because it will have developed in a different environment).

How could AI evolve unless it was already given sentient thought and learning powers? (Thus making it true AI already)

CartoonHead:
How could AI evolve unless it was already given sentient thought and learning powers? (Thus making it true AI already)

The same way some primordial ooze evolved into you.

To have AI advanced enough to be directly compared to human beings, you'd need to have an insane amount of programming to make it appear human, covering every single aspect of the human mind (emotions, thoughts, concerns, straight up knowledge, an ability to learn, how to react to different people and different situations and so on).

The other thing about biological intelligence is that it leads to every single animal to be unique in all those things that I've just listed, meaning that every single AI unit would have to be programmed differently and individually. Which would involve enormous amounts of time and effort.

And I doubt, based on the fact that computers follow algorithms anyway, that they could ever form their own intelligence.

Of course there will eventually be an AI. How much have we advanced, in just a century? Imagine how far technology will be when we hit the year 3000, so the only question is will we last that long... I say yes.

Without some massive reform in how we program computers? I really doubt it. They just don't work like that. Computers as we know them can only react in preprogrammed ways. A computer that could write its own protocols is far beyond our current ability. The only reason I don't say it's just plain impossible is that (A) I don't know that much about advanced computing, and (B) god knows what we'll be doing in a few years. I mean, you would've thought invisibility was impossible, but they've basically cracked that already.

Eventually humans will get to the stage where they can make AI that is pretty damn advanced. I don't think that we'll get sentience though, because I don't think you can put that into coding. I envision something like VI from Mass Effect, but yeh, I don't think the humanity will make AI.

I think we will all be dead before we even get advanced to make AI or VI. Even if we get far enough there will not be true AI.

True, the way we program computers won't yield AI, but as The_Toe_Bighter98 pointed out, look at how much we've advanced over the past century. And i SERIOUSLY doubt it will take until the year 3000. I honestly we will have produced some form of AI during my lifetime (me being 18 yrs. old).

EDIT: my post was in response to Break.

One day, it will be just like the Matrix.

I hope, then, if the Boss AI is nice, I can ask it to give me my own AI where all of my fantasies come true. DO NOT ASK PEOPLE, YOU MAY FIND YOURSELF DROOLING UNCONTROLLABLY.

All that aside, I'm all for robots taking over the world, so long as they take care of the environment, and only wipe out humanity. Luckily, by that stage, I'll be dead anyway.

the monopoly guy:
I've said ti before. Never, EVER, EVER trust a computer that you cannot through out the window

My thoughts exactly. To quote The Matrix: "When we started thinking for your, technicaly it became our civilisation"

Come on Singularity! I think it might be possible to create sentient computers. Soon we'll have a computer with enough room to replicate the human brain. Once we get to that point, all it takes is some brilliant programming and we're there.

Depends on how you could define AI. I wouldn't call it artificial human, and majority actions and thought humans have are NOT intelligent. I would pick C. But I also wouldn't say it'll take too long for such happen properly for the first time, considering how computers hardly even existed 30 years ago, properly I mean. And now everyone has one, and they're pretty damn advanced too. First comp I touched my hands on was Sinclair ZX Spectrum and its something dad used to fiddle around when he was 20. (For americans. Commodore 64. They're about same old and one of the first home computers).

But anyways, stupid rambling from me.

We won't survive to year 3000, at least not in the way we know civilization now. But I'm pretty sure we get to make somekind of proper AI before it.

Eventually yes.
I don't know why you would want to.
Battlestar Galactica.
The Matrix.
I, Robot. (Going by the movie, the 3 Laws are inherently flawed.)

I don't think so, these days good AI is just the enemy taking cover and shooting you perfectly while you can only take 3 hits on the foot and still die without ever knowing where the hell the shots came from.

People say "This game has awesome AI!" when the only way the AI isn't retarted is that they take cover and the only reason why the AI is challenging is because they can kill you with perfect aim in only 3 hits.

But eventually AIs would be very smart but I don't htink they will still be distinguishable as computers.

VR Porn, here we come.

they will, but they shouldn't. think about it. AI enemies designed to outsmart and kill human players? that will screw the pooch once the navy starts using them to control automated artillery and gunships and all those new toys they're always going on about.

Has no-one seen 2001? Artificial Intelligence is not the way to go. The computers will corrupt. They'll grow paranoid. They'll lash out. Civilisation as we know it will crumble...

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do...

AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

u have to think about that someone made an ai the cant make something that can build memory onto itself the human mind can hold more information then any computer so it obvious it wont exactley happen completely

I beleive AIs will be created. And I think basically everything movies and games have shown from AI will take place in some way or another.
Starting first, with Portal. A shower curtain company builds a disk operating system that becomes self aware. Humanity, learning nothing will go the way of 2001.
Still not learning their lessons, and reaching further into space, growing technology will help us create unrivaled, human like, AI, as well as great strides in robotics. The Liandri corporation will have unparralledledleldleldleldleld robotics within which, eventually, an upgraded mining drone will become their president. Then, Mr. Aasimov will have predicted our downfall.

OR: We'll create advanced AIs and cyborgs, just to learn, that no matter how advanced a machine becomes, it will still stare at the wall rather than do the given task. Seriously. How the crap are my teammates supposed to be guarding a flag if they're staring at a wall?

Ahem, actually, it IS possible that one day, we will be able to design an AI that truly gains some form of sentience, mainly, by the time the processes of the brain are fully understood which will take looong time. Considering the fact that our brain is just a bunch of material stuff stuff anyway, it can be argued that consciousness is just the process of billions of neural nodes working parallel to each other, exchanging information pretty fast. Our "minds", can be said, are nothing but the result of a pretty neat circuit.

It would be surprising, in turn, if we never actually developed AI since, in theory, all we would be doing, really, would be creating a process similar to ours. Of course, it won't happen from one day to another, and we will have to go through phases of truly stupid AI, and I don't mean videogame stupid, but truly stupid, as in making a judgement which turned out to be BAD judgement, like kids...or bugs, for that matter.

unabomberman:
Ahem, actually, it IS possible that one day, we will be able to design an AI that truly gains some form of sentience, mainly, by the time the processes of the brain are fully understood which will take looong time. Considering the fact that our brain is just a bunch of material stuff stuff anyway, it can be argued that consciousness is just the process of billions of neural nodes working parallel to each other, exchanging information pretty fast. Our "minds", can be said, are nothing but the result of a pretty neat circuit.

It would be surprising, in turn, if we never actually developed AI since, in theory, all we would be doing, really, would be creating a process similar to ours. Of course, it won't happen from one day to another, and we will have to go through phases of truly stupid AI, and I don't mean videogame stupid, but truly stupid, as in making a judgement which turned out to be BAD judgement, like kids...or bugs, for that matter.

Wow, seriously, you just convinced me that computers would be able to form a sentient AI. I have never though of the brain like that. And I usually do think about stuff like that.

It sucks that I've already voted...

Well, there's always the possibility that all of humanity is the bio-engineered construct of some vastly advanced alien race. I don't know why they'd bother though seeing as all they seem to do is probe people...

Haliwali:

I, Robot. (Going by the movie, the 3 Laws are inherently flawed.)

But going by the book, the 3 Laws made things quite awesome, even starting a robot religion akin to sun-worship.

I think there is actually a kind of AI robot in development called COG or something similar and its learnt like a child, I believe its 7 years old now

shatnershaman:
I think we will all be dead before we even get advanced to make AI or VI. Even if we get far enough there will not be true AI.

We already have VI in the form of telemarketing and other crap. Call X-Box customer support. You'll get some guy named Mac or Max or something like that and he responds to voice commands and all that crap. He is, in essence, a VI because all a VI does is respond to queries asked and delves into it's data bases for answers. I read all the Codex entries I got because I thought they were interesting.

On the Sentient AI though. Last year there was a soccer tournament between robot dogs and they did it entirely by themselves. There was no human interevetion what so ever. Yes they were programmed to play only soccer but they were free to run about the field and be stupid as expected but they actually played soccer. If a goalie dog let a ball get past him he realized it and he tried to hide his face under his paws like a real dog does. So I think some sort of sentient AI isn't far off.

I think the only real answer is a shrug and a "maybe." Because while it may seem impossible, even frightening now, what will happen in the next three hundred years or so is totally beyond our comprehension.

On a related note, true AI in a video game would be scary. Think about it...all those guys you kill? They're thinking beings just like you now. Then what happens if you tell one of them that he's actually in a game that you're playing? Scary stuff.

Well, asking if something fantastical is possible in the future then the answer is usually YES as the future is a very long time. I'm quite sure that given enough time and effort we will figure out some ingenious way of breaking the light barrier and flitting across the universe in weeks but that is so far beyond current technology and knowledge that it is pointless pondering about it when we SHOULD be thinking about the NEXT STEP.

A far better question is; will we have a computer that can pass itself off as human in the our lifetime. There exist "sentience tests" where a computer is tested to see if it can pass itself off as a human such as having a long conversation about varying subjects, engage in several complex games. This test was invented in the 50's, I forgot the name and basically involves a human communicating to someone in another room through something simple like typing though the person he is talking or playing a game with could be a human or a computer.

The human testers can ask whatever they like to tell who is human and who is robot and in over 50 years the machine is always caught out. It's just like how in an FPS deathmatch you can eventually spot which players are bots and which are real players.

As to the next step in Artificial Intelligence, What is becoming very popular and is being driven by consumer demand is for a more accessible human interface. Ask any hotel manager and he'll tell you how important it is to have a helpful and intelligent person at the lobby desk to welcome guests and answer any question clearly and insightfully as well as suitably informing them.

This human interface is needed in the millions of technological gadgets that people get frustrated with as they don't "speak machine", this goes from automated helplines to parking meters to new phones and even ticket machines.

Realistically, the first Artificial Intelligence we will see will be superficial. I say 15 to 20 years from now we will go to a train station and you will not have to navigate a touch screen on a ticket machine but will talk to a talkative and helpful person on a 3D monitor who I will actually have a fluid conversation with as I ask about train times, services and after walking away I will have to remind myself that she may seem friendly and nice but she is not real. Even the most useless technophobe could use the service while they would get frustrated with a touch screen computer, especially about finding basic information.

Thats all we need, machines to become self aware. Anybody remember 2001 or Terminator? Hey, I replied without even bringing up the Matrix (Damn!)!

Treblaine
There exist "sentience tests" where a computer is tested to see if it can pass itself off as a human such as having a long conversation about varying subjects, engage in several complex games. This test was invented in the 50's, I forgot the name and basically involves a human communicating to someone in another room through something simple like typing though the person he is talking or playing a game with could be a human or a computer.

It's called the Turing test, and it has some problems (like that it completely ignores Option C, and the famous Chinese Room argument).

Realistically, the first Artificial Intelligence we will see will be superficial. I say 15 to 20 years from now we will go to a train station and you will not have to navigate a touch screen on a ticket machine but will talk to a talkative and helpful person on a 3D monitor who I will actually have a fluid conversation with as I ask about train times, services and after walking away I will have to remind myself that she may seem friendly and nice but she is not real.

Whether or not that AI would be superficial kind of depends on exactly what is involved in making an AI capable of fluid conversation, because to have a fluid conversation, you need to understand what another person is likely to say, and doing that involves understanding how people in general think, and by creating a program that can figure that out in realtime, you would essentially be creating an artificial human that the AI uses to determine its responses.