Can Computers and Robots Think?

• Thinking
• Do robots exist that can think and make decisions?
• Why can't computers think like us?

Conclusion

Thinking

First, let's understand what thinking is. 

Thinking is the process when we think, reason, make decisions and draw conclusions. Thinking helps us solve problems, create new things, and find answers to complex questions.

The girl is happy, she had a great idea

However, computing machines do not have the ability to think in the same sense that we humans do.

The technology and programs that computers use were developed by humans. Computers can only do what programmers tell them to do. These programs are usually built around strict rules and algorithms that determine what to do in each situation.

The little programmer writes code

Let's look at an example. Imagine that you and your computer are looking at a picture. You can see many different objects in the picture, such as trees, houses, people, cars, etc. The computer can see all these objects in the picture too, but it cannot understand what these objects are, how they are related to each other, or how they interact with each other. The computer can only process the image with special algorithms and show you the result.

Do robots exist that can think and make decisions?

Unfortunately, not yet. But there are scientists who are working on creating such robots. They study the workings of our brains and try to create an analogy with computers.

Such robots use neural networks - these are special algorithms that allow the machine to "learn" from a large amount of data. For example, if we show a robot lots of pictures of cats, it can "learn" to identify what kind of animal it is.

Also, computers can't feel and don't have emotions like humans. We humans can have different feelings such as joy, sadness, fear, etc. Computers cannot feel and have no emotions.

But that doesn't mean that computers and robots can't be useful. They can perform many tasks that are difficult or impossible for humans. For example, computers can count large numbers quickly and accurately, which would be very difficult for humans. Robots can do dangerous jobs, such as demining, which would be very dangerous for humans. In general, computing machines and robots are not able to think like humans. But that doesn't mean that they can't do smart things and can't help humans in many areas of life.

• For example, a robot vacuum cleaner can't solve a math problem or formulate an opinion about a book, but it can clean up after us and make our lives easier. The algorithms that teach a robot vacuum cleaner to clean are simple and do not require thinking.

Kitten lying at home on the robot vacuum cleaner

• Also, robots are used in manufacturing and medicine. For example, robotic surgeons can perform complex surgeries with maximum precision and safety for the patient.

Medical robot performing complex instruments and visible procedures created with generative artificial intelligence

It is important to realize that computing machines and robots are tools that are created by humans to help us solve problems. We can use them to simplify our lives and make them safer and more comfortable.

On the other hand, artificial intelligence (AI) is a set of programs and algorithms that can perform complex tasks that were previously only available to humans. AI can identify faces in photos, recognize voice, and even create music.

But then again, AI can't think the way we do. Everything it does is based on pre-defined rules and algorithms that were written by humans. A computer can process large amounts of information and provide answers to complex problems in a short period of time, but it cannot have intuition or creative thinking.

Boy's programming code for a robot hand on a laptop to play chess

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But why can't computers think like us?

To understand this, let's look at the difference between human and computer thinking using a rebus example.

Rebus:

11111

11111

- - - - -

22222

Here is how a person solves this rebus:

We know that 1 + 1 = 2, so in each column the sum will equal 2. Thus, we can easily determine that the number to write in place of the "X" sign must equal 1.

And here's how the computer solves this rebus:

The computer has to go through all the possible choices and check which one fits. This can take a long time, especially if the rebus is more complex.

Thus, computers can't think the way we do because they don't have the intuition, knowledge, and experience that humans have. Computers simply follow the instructions given to them by programmers.

There is another interesting approach to understanding the thinking of robots and computers. It is based on the concept of "artificial society", which is a way of modeling social systems and processes on a computer. In this approach, robots and computers are viewed as members of such a society that communicate with each other and perform various tasks. In this context, the thinking of robots and computers is determined not only by the program code, but also by the social environment in which they are located.

Conclusion

As you can see, the question of whether computers and robots can think does not have an unambiguous answer. Some experts believe that yes, it is possible, but on the condition that thinking is determined not only by the program, but also by the social environment. Others believe that it is impossible, because human thinking is unique and based on more complex processes that cannot be reproduced on a computer or in a robot.

father and son making a robot

Thus, everyone can independently form their own opinion on this topic based on the available information. However, despite the different points of view, programming and the study of robotics are very important for the development and understanding of the technological world we live in. In addition, knowledge in this field opens up new opportunities and perspectives for future careers and professional development.

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