shewolfnm wrote:...Though brains have an infinite circular capability that we have yet to create in computers. <
>( thems the biggest words I have used in a while. hehehe) Anyway.. the one thing that I question when it comes to duplication is the ability to ask WHY and contemplate the repercussions of the answers....
It is easy to write programs that just keep processing and never terminate. In Unix, they're called daemons. Very commonplace.
I think this idea that machines will never as "why" is false. What you are seeing in this type of human quality is simply a macroscopic attribute of the processing capacity and particular construction of our brains. Since our brains contain no element of magic, then it simply must be possible, even if we can't do it now, to build a machine to duplicate any or all of their attributes.
Here's another angle on all this. I believe that when we become able to build self-aware machines, we will be embarking on a course that could ultimately destroy mankind as surely as WMD could in today's technology. If that needs any spelling out - I am saying that in some very distant future, our self-aware machines could take over.