StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Future of the Human Brain - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "The Future of the Human Brain" pinpoints according to neuroscientists, the human brain will not grow forever; it might become double the current size. However, our intelligence will continue to grow. The improvement in human intelligence would require adding a computer interface…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98% of users find it useful
The Future of the Human Brain
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Future of the Human Brain"

A human brain is a machine, albeit a complex one, so is a computer especially a supercomputer. The brain functions on three levels: biological, psychological, and computational. The computer, on the other hand, functions essentially by the computational approach. The human brain is linked to the mind and, therefore, is capable of thinking. Many researchers in artificial intelligence (AI) believe that a computer can be made to think as well, with the help of a computer program with the right inputs and outputs (Searle, 1990).

However, Searle disputes this saying that computers, based on rules in the computer program, just manipulate symbols that are syntactic; therefore, “merely running the computer program is not enough to guarantee cognition.” Syntax of symbols and programs is only abstract and does not identify any physical phenomena whereas the domain of syntactic rules in the human brain is the sentence that is computed in combinations of fixed words as specified by the syntax. Also, more importantly, when uttered the meaning of the sentence is integrated with other information including semantic information from extra-linguistic domains such as co-speech gestures or the visual world. These steps are important for the listeners to interpret the language. Thus, in the case of a computer program, the computer which is the listener is unable to interpret the language of the computer program which is only syntactic and abstract, and devoid of the semantic framework. Therefore, computer programs are not the equivalent of nor do they have minds.

According to Searle, thinking is not analogous to formal symbol manipulation. Yet, he says he does not believe that thinking is a purely biological process. Notwithstanding the fact that advances in neuroscience have now more or less proved that all aspects of our mental life including perceptions, thinking, memories, actions, language, etc. are neurobiological processes that depend upon brain function, Searle puts forth his argument that “we might even come to be able to create thinking systems artificially”. But he hastens to add that the computer only simulates cognition but will not produce the same outcome as that of neurobiological renditions of cognition. In other words, “brains cause minds” (Searle, 1990) which is to say that the mental phenomena produced by human brains do not merely result from the brains’ computational activity. Searle rebuts the claim of the defenders of AI who say that semantics is non-existent and there is only syntax, and the mental activity is nothing but syntactic symbol manipulation, by arguing that the brain has the neurobiological capability to add meaning to symbol manipulation.       

Another attribute the human brain has and which the computer lacks is creativity. Creativity makes the brain think. The human brain does more than thinking since the semantic memory has layers of discrete, hierarchically organized concepts and propositions wherein subordinate levels will automatically inherit the propositions applying to their superordinates. For example, given the fact that birds can fly, one would not need to learn specifically that owls can fly but one would need to have the fact that the ostrich, in spite of being a bird, cannot fly. Computer programs will not provide such conceptual microfeatures; hence, the possibility of making a computer/robot that has
a mind is indeed very remote.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Anthropology - : Introduction to Evolution of the Brain you are to Essay”, n.d.)
Anthropology - : Introduction to Evolution of the Brain you are to Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1561257-anthropology-introduction-to-evolution-of-the-brain-you-are-to-apply-your-knowledge-of-brain-evolution-especially-the-logical-arguments-that-are-used-to-understand-it-to-critically-assess-whether-it-will-ever-be-possible-to-make-a-machine
(Anthropology - : Introduction to Evolution of the Brain You Are to Essay)
Anthropology - : Introduction to Evolution of the Brain You Are to Essay. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1561257-anthropology-introduction-to-evolution-of-the-brain-you-are-to-apply-your-knowledge-of-brain-evolution-especially-the-logical-arguments-that-are-used-to-understand-it-to-critically-assess-whether-it-will-ever-be-possible-to-make-a-machine.
“Anthropology - : Introduction to Evolution of the Brain You Are to Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1561257-anthropology-introduction-to-evolution-of-the-brain-you-are-to-apply-your-knowledge-of-brain-evolution-especially-the-logical-arguments-that-are-used-to-understand-it-to-critically-assess-whether-it-will-ever-be-possible-to-make-a-machine.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Future of the Human Brain

Teaching the Human Brain

These studies have revealed many such facets of the human brain that have resulted in major changes in educational areas.... Executive summary In this advanced age of technology, various techniques are available for researchers to study both the structure and the functions of the brain.... Likewise, studies of the brain have come up with new ideas about educational studies and learning models (Gulpinar, 2005, p.... This paper analyzes the principles of brain learning and their potential impact on education....
25 Pages (6250 words) Research Paper

The Identity of Minds and the Mental States

the human mind.... Behavior is understood here as an external physical movement of the body, and thus includes verbal behavior, but excludes brain activities.... The purpose of this essay "The Identity of Minds and the Mental States" is to explore a concept that has been extensively mystified, i....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Human - Interpretation, Compare and Contrast, Fossil Record

he second point is their body covering where the human beings have short and relatively sparsely distributed throughout their bodies but varying from one human being to another by race, their sex, place, and, most importantly, the genes.... umans' brain size has uniquely identified them from the chimpanzees' characterized by the human beings having the larger one than the latter's.... Chimps have 370ml of brain size compared to the 1350ml on average for human beings....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Customer and Market Profile - Brain Reader

From the paper "Customer and Market Profile - Brain Reader" it is clear that the brain Reader is a new generation scientific device that aims at detecting and reading the thoughts of the human brain.... The product has been named 'brain Reader'.... The main purpose of the commodity is to convert the different signals transmitted in the brain of human beings into electrical signals that might be reproduced in the form of words or commands for computer programmes....
8 Pages (2000 words) Assignment

International Human Resources

International human Resource Institution Date Introduction The increase in foreign and direct investment across the globe has encouraged various organizations to open branches across cultural and national borders (Parry, 2013).... This has brought about other global trends, which have made human resource complex and dynamic.... Such international human resource trends include further education and training to the workforce, this is done as e-learning or an organization offering scholarships to its workers to pursue degree or masters programs in another country or simply by an individual migrating to a foreign country to further their studies....
3 Pages (750 words) Term Paper

Brain Drain in Louisiana

In the paper 'brain Drain in Louisiana' the author discusses the loss of skilled intellectual and technical labor, through the movement of such labor to a more favorable geographic, economic or professional environment.... This is the form and substance of the term 'brain drain'.... The factor driving brain drain emigration is not far fetched.... It is obvious, therefore, that inequalities in opportunities available to different societies or nations, is one primary factor at the root of brain drain emigration....
3 Pages (750 words) Assignment

Ethical Issues With The Artificial Intelligence Of Computers

This review ''Ethical Issues With The Artificial Intelligence Of Computers'' discusses that intelligence refers to intellectual creations that outperform the abilities of the human brain in different functionalities.... This could result from the increased hardware functionalities and the capacity of computers – in performing architectures and algorithms similar to those applied by the human brain (Bostrom, 1998).... Such a computer intelligence system could also lead to the development of further-advanced intelligences; the artificial intelligence bases can be copied or erased, they could become autonomous operators, and they may have or lack human psyches and motives (Dean, Allen & Yiannis, 1995)....
8 Pages (2000 words) Literature review

Brain Gain versus Brain Drain

The paper "brain Gain versus brain Drain" highlights that Asian countries such as China, India, and South Korea have realized the immense benefits that accompany brain gain.... In this regard, the countries have started major initiatives aimed at turning brain drain into brain gain.... In this regard, the return channel of the immigrants meant substantial brain gain for the developing countries and absence channel for the western countries....
8 Pages (2000 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us