CIS Blog 6 - The Difference between Humans and Computers

I think humans are computers. Considering the standard conception of humans as biological entities and computers as machines, tasks that are easy for one would be hard for the other. Computers have the advantage of not getting bored, but lengthy computational tasks would be boring and exhausting to the majority of humans. If lengthy computational tasks was something people liked doing, they probably wouldn’t have invented computers. Something simple for a human, like walking, can be difficult for a computer, because there are many aspects of walking that are done subconsciously. Humans don’t calculate appropriate stride lengths or appropriate foot positions for uneven terrain. It seems to come natural, but really a lot of subconscious processes are doing these calculations, even if they are calculating an estimate. These subconscious calculations would have to be programmed for a robot/computer to be able to perform them, so walking is more difficult for a robot. It seems likely that the reason it is hard to program is because the instructions are not conscious to humans. They need to consciously reimagine what they naturally do subconsciously.

Yes, I think humans qualify as turing machines under the circumstance that humans lived forever. Just like the simple turing machine that would take very long periods of time to simulate more complex algorithms, humans can also follow any line of logic if given infinite time.

The most obvious instance I can think of where computers have replaced humans is self-checkouts at stores. I am sure there are many more instances where computers have replaced humans, but the much more common theme is computers augmenting humans. This can be seen in nearly every occupation. Desktops are a ubiquitous item in any office environment. Other jobs, like nursing, now use mobile computers, and more and more computers are used in vehicles, so even things like road construction or farming use some form of a computer. I don’t think there is any theoretical instance where a computer could not replace a human at there job, but other social or economic factors may keep this from happening to every job.

Biological systems can be thought of as computers. In my mind there is no point at which something stops being a computer and becomes something else. I think humans and computers function very similarly. It may not seem like it, because the programming for humans is very complex, but I do think it is possible to replicate a human brain.