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Why is artificial intelligence seen as something impossible?

Okay, I know that this is probably the most ridiculous question you have heard today but for me it is very interesting. Ok, so lets start with intelligence- what is intelligence? Intelligence is to be able to acquire information and then apply knowledge and skill through the information provided. Therefore, why cant we use the present super computers or even make better computers that is able to acquire information from the internet in an immense speed and then use the information to apply certain thoughts and actions while learning it at the same time. For example, computer searches " what is pain" and then obtains millions of information in which it finds what/how/why pain is. Then whenever the information is needed such as when a person swears at the machine- it simple replies "That hurt me". Stupid example but hopefully understandable .
Basically why cant we use 'Watson' machine and develop it through improving its hardware and software and adding 3D sensors such as Kinect? It can then find information appropriate to the current situation and environment?
It just a thought.
Original post by watchmen98
Therefore, why cant we use the present super computers or even make better computers that is able to acquire information from the internet in an immense speed and then use the information to apply certain thoughts and actions while learning it at the same time.

This is the main reason we aren't there yet. The bit I've bolded is the bit that we're yet to turn into a (reasonable time, scalable, accurate etc) algorithm. 'Just do this and then make it think and' glosses over the fact that artificial intelligence is required for computers to 'think'.

Also, computers aren't very good at understanding meaning from text. It's not something they are naturally able to do, it requires complex statistical approaches. Look at Now or Siri, if you ask it something they ask in the adverts then it'll give you a clever response, but for 99% of things the best it can do is "let me google that for you". The same would be true of a computer reading a webpage.
Mathematics has proof that human mind cannot be reduced to an information processing system.

On other hands, computers cannot compute everything - there are mathematical limits of computability. These can be changed in the future.

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