The Overall Nature of Computers - Essay Example

Introduction The overall progress of development in computers both at the hardware and software level has been tremendous during recent past. The increasing complexity of computer software is making computers more and more challenging and innovative to use. There has been an increasing debate about whether computers will think like humans and will have the self awareness which essentially is the characteristics of human beings. The debate is therefore focused upon whether computers will develop self-awareness, whether they will be able to have consciousness and act and respond like we humans do? Well! Computers are, in the end, machines programmed to do something so they can never be able to develop self awareness. One of the basic and key arguments in favor of the thesis that computers can never be able to develop self awareness is based upon the fact that computers are build to emulate human intelligence and awareness through a set mechanized procedure. This therefore relatively limit the ability of the computers to develop self awareness as their responses will be mostly hard coded into them and they may not be able to develop the capability to be innovative during this response phase. It is also however, argued that human brain performs the functions which can be replicated through an algorithm therefore the argument that computers can develop self awareness holds to a certain point. This paper however, argues that given the overall nature of computers and how they are programmed, it is never possible that computers can generate self awareness. Self Awareness Since the invention of modern computers, the possibility of developing a computer system with self awareness capabilities has remained one of the elusive dreams for the scientists. The subsequent research on artificial intelligence and other allied research disciplines showed a new prospect which can be further probed to develop computers which can think and act like human beings besides developing the self awareness capability. However, despite such promise, research on artificial intelligence has failed to provide any clear signal as to whether developing such systems is a possibility or not. Self awareness as a concept is described as the capacity to introspect as well as reconciling oneself as a self which is distinct and separate from the environment. This is also related with the experience of self and is often associated with the so called hard problems of consciousness. John Locke was the first philosopher who attempted to define the concepts of self-awareness as he claimed that self-awareness is repeated self-identification of the one’s self and to whom the moral responsibility can be attributed. Locke therefore outlined that the self-awareness can only come through the continuous consciousness and not through the soul or the substance. (Lacewing) Scientific view of the self awareness suggests that we continue to evaluate our current behaviors with our internal values therefore we can become self aware if we develop the ability of objective evaluation of our ownself. From the perspective of psychology, self awareness therefore is a form of intelligence which helps an individual to develop understanding of self-knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. (Cohen) Machines and self-awareness The development of computers also led to the revolution in Psychology which further led to the development of cognitive science. Cognitive science considers the idea of computation as an opportunity to explore as to whether it can lead to understanding thought. Computers therefore not only provided a strong model for thought but many went on to argue that they can think and develop self awareness even. The idea of can computers think or they have their own intelligence therefore is one of the mostly debated topics. Some argue that the computers can develop self awareness and think because according to them think can be understood computationally from the input received by the subject. This argument however, completely ignores the fact that humans are social animals too who interact and react to different situations in different manner. Though machines may develop self awareness but will they be able to develop themselves as social beings too. Those who argue that computers can develop self awareness base their argument on the assumption that the processing of information within our brains takes place in terms of our ability to process symbols while at the same time complying with different rules and processes. As such the overall process of thinking can be based upon mathematical processes where computers can observe their behavior and optimize it to achieve the goal. Thus the fundamental idea is that computers should be programmed to achieve certain goals under certain constraints rather than being programmed to accomplish certain tasks. Computers can never develop self –awareness One of the basic and key arguments against the assumption that computers can develop self-awareness is based upon the fact that computers can only obey the rules but they cannot understand them. What distinguishes humans from other species including computers is their ability to not only obey the rules while processing the information but also understand the input and output which goes in and out. Though computers can process the information and respond to the situations like humans do but they never be able to understand what certain instructions or input and output actually means. (Cook) What is also important to note if computers do not have the ability to understand the meanings, they will not be able to have beliefs which humans possess therefore computers cannot develop the perspective which is often formed by humans. While following instructions and decoding symbols, computers actually make a transition from one symbol to another symbol without actually judging or developing inference or reasoning. Computers therefore clearly lack the ability of inference or even form a judgment based upon the processing of input and output. There is therefore large difference between simulating thinking and actual thinking as computers simulate thinking rather than actually participating into the overall process of thinking. It is also unclear as to how the computers as self aware systems will actually behave and respond where there are errors in communication between computers and real human beings. The lack of self adaptability of computers therefore is one of the key elements which naturally restrict the ability of computers to actually think and develop the self awareness. Another important question arising is the lack of computers to basically simulate the human consciousness. Human consciousness include elements like emotions and feelings and it is generally argued that self aware software may not be able to show the human consciousness and therefore may fail to actually become a self aware software. Self aware species on earth also seem to be the one who self reproduce themselves and even have the ability to repair them. Such ceaseless ability to actually continue to replicate therefore give the species with self awareness a rather unique advantage. These abilities combine together to provide an environment under which the overall self-awareness of an individual develops and builds. Computers however, replicate the behavior of the humans without actually using and understanding as to how they can replicate themselves ceaselessly on their own. It is also important to understand that those advocating that computers can develop self awareness also argue that computers can develop the ability to self heal. (MIT). This would be limited to taking account of the available resources of the computers and how they can actually conserve them and replenish them to survive. This however, may not be entirely possible as some sort of human intervention will be necessary to make computers realize as to whether their resources need conservation or not. Finally, the most important missing element which computers may never be able to get to develop the required level of self awareness is the intentionality i.e. the ability to decide consciously. It is believed that the computers will be able to replicate the complete complexity of human mind in 2029 which is still a period which is less than 2 decades away. However, the increasing interaction of humans with the computers and role played by humans to direct the behavior of computers may not be easily simulated. Conclusion The overall complexity and advances made in computer technology suggest that the computers may generate self awareness. Self awareness, according to Locke, is related with moral obligations and judgments. It is something external to soul as well as the substance and is often based upon human consciousness. Scientific method of inquiry however, further self awareness could be achieved when develop the ability to continue to evaluate our behaviors according to our internal values. Computers can never be able to have self awareness because they lack the ability of intentionality i.e. they cannot act on their own and neither have they had their own consciousness. The lack of consciousness therefore restricts the ability of computers to become self aware. It is also important to note that though computers can replicate human mind and its processes but it lacks the ability to understand the input and output. This lack of understanding as to what goes in and out makes computers reliant on human minds. Bibliography Cohen, Anthony Paul. Self consciousness: an alternative anthropology of identity. London: Routledge,, 1994. Cook, Rich. Will computers become self aware? 2011. 29 December 2011 . Lacewing, Michael. Philosophy for AS. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2008. MIT. SELF-AWARE COMPUTING. 2008. 28 December 2011 . Read More