The human brain is unrivaled even by machines with the highest level of intelligence. In trying to analyze this thought, philosophers have come up with numerous questions majoring on machines ability to be intelligent. While machines and computers have significantly enhanced the performance of several tasks, they are unintelligent when compared to human beings.
As Descartes explains in his writings, the human mind comprises of several entities that enhance thinking leading to its marvelous abilities. Conversely, a machine, no matter the level of sophistication, cannot demonstrate these entities. As a result, unlike the human brain, machines cannot predict events. Furthermore, for machines to possess intelligence, they have to be conscious and possibly initiate the capability to worry about the tasks they perform. Therefore, owing to the complexity of designing machines with such capabilities, machines cannot be considered intelligence.
In order for a machine to have intelligence, it must be capable of recognizing its master or inventor just as Descartes stated that he had an apparent and discrete idea of his creator. Thus, machines are supposed to recognize independently that they exist because of their inventor. However, current machines operate according to the way they are programmed to achieve specific tasks. Since they do not possess the ability to recognize their inventors, machines are unintelligent. Descartes depicts how human understanding is based on meanings and learning through the application of senses. Therefore, for a machine to be regarded as intelligent, it must possess these capabilities.
However, current machines do not meet this criterion in that their knowledge is fixed and stored, and is referred to when needed. Moreover, the machines’ knowledge is not acquired over time as in the case of human knowledge. It is represented by coded instructions. Due to this disparity and the complexity of the human brain, which is used as a reference in determining integrity, machines can never be considered intelligent.
