Samuel Chiltern answered
Human beings still have advantages over computers and there are still many things that we can do, which computers are simply not capable of.
It's important to bear in mind that humans invented computers - not the other way round. Computers can still perform very badly under certain circumstances, especially when human error creeps into their design.
Fuzzy Logic and Heuristics
Computers are great at dealing with absolute truths - where values are definite, and where there is a known number of possibilities. They can perform this kind of reasoning much faster than human beings, but don't let that fool you into thinking that we are redundant just yet.
Humans tend to make decisions based upon partial truths and rules of thumb (heuristics) - we don't possess all available knowledge, and we don't have time to process every possible permutation.
Usually, previous experiences tell us that we have enough information to make a good decision and - if we fail - we often feel confident that we'll be able to handle the outcome, and resolve the situation anyway.
When there isn't the time or necessity to perform detailed analysis, humans are much better at making sensible decisions, based upon what you might call 'common sense'.
Language Interpretation
Computers are remarkably good at interpreting the meaning of language (and even speech) these days. However, the more subtle nuances of language still remain beyond their grasp. Idioms are a great example of this. Take for example, the following saying:
"He took me to the cleaners'"
A computer might be able to deduce meaning by interpreting the keywords in this phrase, but if it hadn't previously been told what this string of text meant, there is little chance that it would be able to arrive at a satisfactory interpretation. However, a human would be much more adept at interpreting contextual signals in order to deduce meaning.
It's important to bear in mind that humans invented computers - not the other way round. Computers can still perform very badly under certain circumstances, especially when human error creeps into their design.
Fuzzy Logic and Heuristics
Computers are great at dealing with absolute truths - where values are definite, and where there is a known number of possibilities. They can perform this kind of reasoning much faster than human beings, but don't let that fool you into thinking that we are redundant just yet.
Humans tend to make decisions based upon partial truths and rules of thumb (heuristics) - we don't possess all available knowledge, and we don't have time to process every possible permutation.
Usually, previous experiences tell us that we have enough information to make a good decision and - if we fail - we often feel confident that we'll be able to handle the outcome, and resolve the situation anyway.
When there isn't the time or necessity to perform detailed analysis, humans are much better at making sensible decisions, based upon what you might call 'common sense'.
Language Interpretation
Computers are remarkably good at interpreting the meaning of language (and even speech) these days. However, the more subtle nuances of language still remain beyond their grasp. Idioms are a great example of this. Take for example, the following saying:
"He took me to the cleaners'"
A computer might be able to deduce meaning by interpreting the keywords in this phrase, but if it hadn't previously been told what this string of text meant, there is little chance that it would be able to arrive at a satisfactory interpretation. However, a human would be much more adept at interpreting contextual signals in order to deduce meaning.
