In the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the computer HAL became operational on January 12, 1997. At the film's 1968 release, computer scientists were not altogether uncomfortable with the prediction that a computer like HAL might be achievable in 30 or so years. The science of artificial intelligence (AI) was in its infancy, but technology and software was developing at a dizzying pace. However, 2001 is here and HAL-like intelligence still seems a long way in the future.

The question "Can computers think?" is still under debate. Alan Turing and Marvin Minsky would argue "Yes!" Alan Turing's paper, Computing Machinery and Intelligence (Mind 59, 1950) got the discussion rolling and describes the famous Turing Test of machine intelligence. For an expanded perspective on the argument, read Minsky's paper, Why People Think Computers Can't.

On the computers-can't-think side of the argument are John Searle and Hubert Dreyfus. A "must read" is What Computers Still Can't Do: A Critique of Artificial Reason by Hubert L. Dreyfus (MIT Press, 1992). Another classic in this continuing argument is Minds, Brains, and Programs by John Searle (Behavioral and Brain Sciences 3, 1980). The fourth episode of The Machine that Changed the World: The Thinking Machine sums up the arguments for and against machine intelligence and describes the challenges still in the forefront of artificial intelligence research.

Additional Links

Exegesis and Astro Teller   With the novel Exegesis (RandomHouse, 1997), Edgar joins the ranks of famous science fiction artificial intelligences. Written by Astro Teller, a Ph.D. student in artificial intelligence at Carnegie Mellon University, most of the action in Exegesis is communicated through e-mail messages between Edgar and his--er, its--creator. At this Web site, you can read an excerpt from the book, read a question and answer session with Astro Teller, play a game with Edgar, or download a screensaver.

Bot Spot   The Bot Spot is a guide to intelligent agents with links to AI programs. Here you can find links to Web sites where you can interact with programs such as Eliza, which simulates a psychotherapist. You can also learn more about Bots in general and about Bots that roam the Internet, interacting with people in MOOs and MUDS.

Expressive Synthesized Speech   When computers can generate speech with all of the emotional nuances that a human being uses, it will become increasingly difficult to tell the difference between computers and human beings. This Web site presents examples of output from Janet Cahn's thesis project at MIT. The program uses differences in pitch, timing, articulation, and voice quality to generate the same sentence with different emotional qualities.

Inside AT&T Labs: Talk Back   Talk back is a speech synthesis demonstration. You can enter words into a form and hear those words synthesized through a JavaScript program and your computer's speakers.

The Alan Turing Home Page   Alan Turing developed what is often considered the litmus test for artificial intelligence. After asking questions of a human and a computer, if you can't tell the difference between the two, then the computer is acting as intelligently as a human--the computer exhibits artificial intelligence. You can learn all about Alan Turing at this Web site maintained by Andrew Hodges, author of the biography Alan Turing: The Enigma.