Introduction to Intelligence Studies324
e second wildcard is articial intelligence (AI), a state in which com-
puters learn to “think” like humans. is includes the ability to understand
and successfully manipulate ones environment, reason, plan, and commu-
nicate meaningfully. Some scientists add self-awareness and sentience to the
mix (the aforementioned Ray Kurzweil has written a book titled e Age of
Spiritual Machines). Suppose computers develop the ability to do all these
things; already, they are much faster than humans at performing mathemati-
cal operations and retrieving information (consider the speed at which search
engines operate). How long will it be before they develop superhuman think-
ing skills? A year? A month? Minutes? And ...