On Feb 28, 1:57*pm, Wayne.B wrote:
On Thu, 28 Feb 2008 09:36:34 -0800 (PST), jamesgangnc

wrote:
Seems we seldom have more than one or two boating topics a day
anyway. *But hope springs eternal!

And spring is right around the corner for you high latitude folks. *It
was in the 80s here last week but a chilly 40 something this morning.
Hopefully the pool will warm up by late afternoon.

Back to computers: *Read up on "the Turing Test" for some fresh
insights:

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test

As you can see, this discussion has been going on for a long time. *I
would postulate that Kasparov's automated opponent has already passed
the test within its limited realm. *At some point, and it may have
already started, computers will be expertly programmed to simulate
feelings, emotion and creative thought. *When the simulations become
so well done that world class experts can't tell the difference, what
do you have then?

Simulating human behavior is far from possessing human characteristics.