Can machines think, and what do they think?

Can machines think? If they can think, what do they think?
I believe questions like these are quite important to ask. Today reasearch into artificial intelligence have stalled. Not much new knowledge is created these days. It's mostly around robots helping elderly people or as games with children (Tamagottchi etc). So I believe it's time for a new era! (Not that I can bring that much, but anyway).

Lately I've been reading "The man who knew too much" by David Leavitt. It's about Alan Turing and his life and inventions. I've known the basic facts about Turing that he invented the computer and broke the German Enigma code during WWII. But I never really knew what he actually did. When reading about his first definition of a Turing machine and how to program it, it strikes you how similar it is to today's programming languages. Imagine a guy during the late 40's inventing a programming language without having seen any similar thing. James Gosling, who invented Java, had several others to get inspired from. Turing had none. The other thing is his definition of an intelligent machine and the Turing test. The Turing test determines if a machine is really intelligent or just plain stupid. The funny thing is that Turing sometimes implies that humans will be taken for being a machine. What an irony! So he thinks that it's not machines that are smarter than humans, it's the other way around, humas who are more stupid than a machine ...

So can machines be smarter than humans? If you look at the human being it's not the individual human that is smart (not very often at least), it's the sum of all humans (ie. the society) and the sum of all thoughts that have been written down, that makes us smart. When James Gosling invented Java he stood on the shoulders of those who were before him (including Turing). When a thought strikes you, it's in the discussion of it with others that improves it and eventually makes it a useful thought. And finally, it's our physical connection and tools that makes us able to do what we do today, building high rise buildings etc.

So it's not if machines can think, it's about:

• What kind of external communication do machines have. Are they to be like humans or something totally different? Will we understand them at all?
• What will the machine society be like? Without a society where they can share and debate thoughts they will never be able to build up an intelligent society
• What kind of culture will they develop? Which drivers and motives will make them push forward? Will it be power or helping humans?

So I believe we have to create the initial thinking machine. Then it's up to them to communicate with each other, develop a society and culture. What kind of intelligence they will develop will much be depending on their physical equipment. Will they just be able to think (more like a lame person) or also able to act?

I would very much like this to happen and start developing machines that can think. Not because they can help us, but because it would be very interesting to see what will actually develop.

So, go out there and create thinking machines that will live by themselves, not just for us!