Day by day computing capabilities are getting more and more smarter. Hence the debate on true intelligence vs. artificial intelligence is also making the thinker around more thoughtful.
We always ask whether computer can ever be self aware? does computer is anyway knowing what he is doing, does computer experience as we the human experience when we do certain things? When we talk with our near and dear one we experience certain kind of feelings, when we become angry we experience another kind of feelings, so, is the computer also feels pain and pleasure in similar way we do? this is a profound question. Vedic scholar says, it is impossible for any matter to have such kind of feelings. The simple reason is that computer is a matter- a sophisticated matter whose fundamental characteristic if inertness. Prof. Penrose[Ref: Science, Spirituality, and Nature of reality, Bhaktivedanta Institute, Kolkata] says one day the computing device may be developed to the extend that it may exactly behave like human being however the self awareness is always questionable. So the Vedic scholars gives us fundamental cause why computer can never be self aware or why computer can not feel pain and pleasure? The simple reason is that the reality is two fold: life and matter. Life has its own fundamental quality called consciousness and on the other hand the matter has mass, charges, structure etc which are entirely different from consciousness.
So, the subject is still a area of research and one day, hopefully, there will be clarity on this.
The IBM's machines whether Blue-gene or Watson they are kind of machines which perform task solving with basic algorithm/computational(primarily game theoretic) principles. Of course, these machines are much more superior in terms of speed and algorithm. But the bigger problem is "how to show that machine can not have self awareness or consciousness". How to prove that, how to argue?
Please do comments.
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Jaynarayan, Bangalore, India
Recently at World Science Festival group of minds from background of Neurology, Psychology, Neurophysics have gather to discuss most stunning and kind of enigma problem of consciousness-Measuring consciousness. The problem of consciousness is one of the most difficult unsolved problem. Till now not much scientists dare to think on the problem of consciousness. Very handful of scientists do started a kind of serious research in combination with neuro science and quantum mechanics. 
