Will the Computers of the Future Have Feelings?

Predicting the future is never an exact science, but by looking at the types of technologies that are in the early stages of development today, it is possible to make some educated guesses about the sorts of technologies that will soon become available and which may even become commonplace in the future. Computers are likely to continue to increase in power, performance and the functions that they are capable of performing while becoming smaller and less expensive.

Computers began as vast machines that were only able to complete very simple functions, but from the latter half of the 20th century onwards they began to develop rapidly into powerful machines that were capable of performing a large number of complex functions, but which were also available for use in every home. The computers of today are still being rapidly improved, so the computers of the future could be just as unrecognizable to us as the computers that we are so familiar with today would be to the first inventors of the computer.

Two of the most interesting and potentially influential areas of computer science that are currently being developed are quantum computing and nanotechnology. Quantum computing has the potential to make computers much faster and far more powerful so that they will be able to perform functions that even the most powerful supercomputers available today are incapable of completing by creating a new system in which transistors can take on multiple states rather than just the binary 0 or 1. Nanotechnology will also be able to increase the range of functions that computers are capable or performing. It will be used to create tiny computers that will be small enough to incorporate into anything, including clothing, everyday objects and even the human body. Rather than being a machine that we use only for certain purposes, computers may become a part of our environment.

A third important area in which computer technology is developing and which could have a significant impact on how we interact with computers is effective computing. Giving computers emotions could revolutionize the way that we interact with technology as well as changing the way that computers think.

The robots and computers that appear in science fiction films often seem to have the same emotions as the human characters, but actually creating a real life artificial intelligence that can show true emotion has proven very difficult. Robots can be programmed to mimic emotions, for example by giving a robot a smiling face, but it has not yet been possible to create a computer that can actually think and feel for itself.

As the technology improves, however, it is possible that computers may be created which can feel emotions that are just as strong and important as those felt by humans. This could help people to relate to technology in new ways. It could make it easier for robots and people to understand one another since robots might become able to recognize the emotions of the people with whom they are communicating and react accordingly. Computers could become companions or friends rather than just being seen as tools.

People do already tend to attribute emotions to their computers and to interact with them in an emotional way, for example becoming angry if something is not working properly. By enabling robots to show and feel emotions, it will make it easier for human beings and machines to understand and interact with one another. It could also enable robots and computers to think and reason in very different ways. A lot of the thought processes that humans use are very emotional. Opening computers up to these types of reasoning could enable them to perform a much wider range of functions than they do today. A computer that could understand emotion could also interact with people in different ways, both by understanding their emotions by interpreting their facial expressions, gestures and tone of voice, and by simulating their own emotions, such as confusion if they don't understand what they are being asked to do or joy when they succeed. People will find it much easier to interact with a machine in an emotional way.

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Source: http://www.articlesbd.com/articles/223434/1/Will-the-Computers-of-the-Future-Have-Feelings/Page1.html

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