Somerecentdevelopmentsinthecomputerindustrymakescientistspredictthatthegapbetweenhumanbeingsandmachineswillbeclosedabouttheyear20000.
Tounderstandthesignificanceofthispredictionletuscomparethehumanbrainwithexistingcomputers.Thebrainconsumeselectricalenergyattherateof25wattsandoccupiesavolumeofonetenthofacubicfoot.Thebrainhousesbetween10billionand100billionitemsofinformation.Everybraincellisdirectlyconnectedtomanyothercells.Asaresult,thecellsinwhichinformationisstoredcancommunicatewiththousandsofothercells.
However,thecomputerconsumes1000,000wattsofelectricalpowerandoccupieshundredsofcubicfeetofspace.Itsmillionitemsofimmediatelyaccessibleinformation.Incontrast,thecomputermemoryislikeacellofpigeonholes,withnothinkingcapacityandnoconnectionselsewhere.
Inaword,theelectronicbrainsarehopelesslyinadequateincomparisonwiththehumanbrains.