Future of Business Mathematics, The
The shifting needs of the business person. While business math itself may remain constant, the mathematical needs of modern business do not.
Artificial Intelligence
Philosopher Hubert Dreyfus talks about initial efforts in the late 1950's to give computers human-like intelligence, which came to be known as artificial intelligence, or "AI."
Computers, Consciousness and the Brain
Philosopher Daniel Dennett compares computers, which perform billions of operations sequentially, with the human brain, which Dennett calls a staggeringly complex structure capable of performing enormous numbers of operations simultaneously. As part...
Chess: Humans vs. Computers
Philosopher John Searle talks about how a computer plays chess. He states that the computer playing chess doesn't actually "think" in the way a human does. What the computer does, Professor Searle explains, is perform a massive number of simulations...
Computer Simulations
Philosopher John Searle points out the difference between computer simulations--be they of the brain or a weather event or an explosion--and the real thing. According to Professor Searle, however closely the simulation comes to approximating the app...
Artificial Intelligence: The Common Sense Problem
Professor of Philosophy Hubert Dreyfus talks about recognizing early on that computers using only symbols and rules can't match what a human brain can do, because the machines lack what we call common sense.
The Turing Test
Philosopher John Searle talks about the Turing test, based on a paper written by Alan Turing in 1950, in which a test was devised to measure whether a computer could simulate the working of a human brain.
The Chinese Room Argument
Philosopher John Searle goes through the "Chinese room argument" to prove that no matter how powerful computers are, they aren't minds. Professor Searle explains that while the computer can very rapidly manipulate formal, syntactical objects (such a...
The Semiconductor and Electronics Industry: Obsolete Computers and the Environment
Throughout the 1960's and 70's, mainframe computers were expected to have long, useful lives. But with rapid advances in technology, and the phenomenal growth of the personal computer, yesterday's million-dollar computers are now only valuable as s...
Human Beings: Description and Origins
Philosopher Daniel Dennett talks about the origins of human beings. He states that contrary to the old notion that people are distinct from other organisms in that we have souls (or, as Descartes suggested, that we are "thinking things with a body")...