Sentient computer

Sentient computers are computers that have obtained consciousness and the ability to have awareness of self and the ability to reason. Computer sentience is a similar concept to Artificial intelligence, although the latter is a weaker form that doesn't always involve true sentience and contemporarily describes computer research that involves pattern recognition and other areas far short of true sentience. A stronger form of artificial intelligence, known as strong AI is closer to the concept of developing a sentient computer, but still does not posit sentience as a sole or even necessary expectation of a strong AI system, but rather the ability to "conceive and plan actions", which falls short of sentience.

Developing a sentient computer
Sentient computers are found in a number of science fiction stories, films and TV series. Humans, however, are not yet anywhere near creating a sentient computer - the most powerful supercomputer today is no more sentient than early computers such as Charles Babbage's analytical engine, despite being several orders of magnitude more powerful in terms of computational powers.

However, an important distinction should be made between computers that are truly sentient, and those that simply appear to be sentient. Computers are nearing the stage where they would be able to pass the Turing test for appearing sentient to a human. As of 2006, no computer has actually passed the Turing test as such. Trying to pass the Turing test in its full generality is not, as of 2005, an active focus of much mainstream academic or commercial effort, but some amateurs do work on the problem, mainly in the form of conversational programs such as ELIZA.

Problem with current path of computer development
Clearly there is some key element necessary to achieve sentience that is lacking in modern computers. Part of the problem is that mainstream computer development has centered around computational ability, as opposed to anything approaching human thought processes. In other words, computers are not being developed directionally towards sentience. Conscious minds are not necessarily great calculators, and sentience appears to relate more to connections than computing ability. Whereas contemporary computers operate from a principle of perfect knowledge of their own data (and indeed can "crash" when this data is even slightly corrupted), humans seem to operate on a far looser system whereby they can in fact operate almost normally with one complete half of their brain removed. Clearly, our current conventional computer model is of no use in developing future computer sentience. It is possible that one or more areas of Unconventional computing could prove to be of more use.

Computer simulation of a human brain model
The only feasible route towards computer sentience as of 2006 is to have a computer simulate a human brain model. This rather primitive approach aims in effect to reverse engineer a human brain by building an exact replica of one by modelling it within a powerful computer system. This would be a cheap and dirty approach in that it is technically feasible in the short term, but advances us not a single step towards understanding how intelligence actually works. It is also not certain to succeed since we still have very little understanding of what gives rise to consciousness and whether it is possible to clone a consciousness in this way. It would also be indescribably cruel to resurrect a conscious mind in a world of complete sensory deprivation.

Design of a sentient computer from first principles
A far more scientific approach would be to first understand what gives rise to intelligence, and then working to build a sentient computer from first principles. This is not just outside of our current abilities but outside of our current imagination - humans literally do not know where to start with such an effort as of 2006.

Theological implications
There are theological implications for the construction of a sentient computer in almost all major religions. In Christianity, the traditional doctrine holds that there is a substance dualism: that is, that there exists a soul, a a self-aware ethereal substance separate from the physical human body, in which the essence of humanity and sentience lies. In almost all religions, this soul is held to be both particular to a unique living being, and attainable only by humans. Since the soul is held to be unique to an individual human being, the possibility of creating a sentient computer by having it exactly model an existing human brain (see Computer simulation of a human brain model above) raises an interesting theological question of whether the sentient computer thus created would be considered to have a soul separate from that of the human, shared with that of the human, or would have no soul at all.

The possibility of sentient or self-aware computers obviously causes major doctrinal troubles for many religions. As with the possibility of sentient extra-terrestrial aliens, or the evolution of animals into sentient forms with an intelligence similar to that of humans, it is probable that some religions might continue to posit that only humans have a true soul and that any other form of sentience is of a secondary, and less divine, nature.

Sentient computers in science fiction

 * List of fictional computers
 * Artificial intelligence in fiction
 * A for Andromeda - a computer sent from the latter galaxy.
 * 2001: A Space Odyssey - sentient computer HAL 9000
 * Blake's 7 - several sentient computers.
 * Robots
 * TRON
 * The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress - sentient computer as Hero
 * Terminator movies - sentient computer Skynet that controls the machines