Science fiction of yesterday has become today's realities, in many ways. With the advent of computers, mankinds eyes were opened to so many new possibilities. Alleviate our problems, remedy most any situation, get richer, smarter...the computer could do anything. Artificial Intelligence could be the answer to the future. However, what does reality teach us?

Can neural networks, parallel processors, and multiprocessors, ever compete with the human brain? Consider what today's computers are capable of, then let's compare the human brain, the intelligence that made that very computer.

Electrical impulses can travel over metallic conduits, in computers, at about one foot per nanosecond. That is a billion feet per second! By comparison, the human brain processes impulses very slow, at only about 100 feet per second.

At present, a computer about the size of a washing machine, ranks among the most capable. With 65,536 processors to manipulate information, it can facilitate calculations as fast as numbers can be fed into it. With such capabilities, Artificial Intelligence may appear to be superior to the human brain.

Now...consider this: How big is the human brain compared to that washing machine sized computer? Very small indeed! And yet...our brain squeezes 150,000 times as many processors into our skull. The most awesome computer of today is an "autistic savant", compared to the human brain.

Can that computer reason, like the processor that's right there in our head? Can it stimulate emotions, or make rational decisions on it's own? Who does it rely on to power and maintain it? Humans. Humans, using human brains. The computer will always need our instruction, it will never eliminate the need for the human brain.

Both a blessing and a curse, the hardware and software architecture of this modern world is certainly most impressive. The human brain remains the original computer. Therefore, any benchmarks achieved in the future, will be further testament to it's amazing design.

About the Author

While computers and other modern technologies are fascinating, the creative minds behind each generation's advances certainly dwarfs their creations. Our creative processes can be funneled into innumerable different avenues. Publishing Articles gives me a personal satisfaction, affords me the opportunity to be creative, and Puts food on the table.