Why has technology surpassed the human mind?

Question

The human mind created techology but now it has surpassed our minds, why?

Understanding technology doesn't mean our mind surpasses it. I meant in terms of intelligence.

Another thing i was wondering is if our minds could eventually surpass technology?

The greatest example of technology surpassing our minds is the computer, it has the ability to store alot more information than the human brain and compute alot faster than the human brain.

Sure there might be a genius out there that can think faster than a computer and maybe even store more information than a computer, but there is alot more computers than geniuses.

JR, how do you know i'm not a robot asking this question?

Answer 1

It has not surpassed the human mind. Why do you think it has? Humans are still vastly superior in many ways, such as language recognition, aesthetics, planning, farming, etc. A computer has only recently beaten the world champion in chess, but that took a team of dedicated programmers consulting with chess experts. So was the human mind surpassed? Or was the computer a mere tool used by the vastly superior human mind?

One other thing: if technology has more "intelligence," then why are *people* answering your question?

You say that computers can "store more information" and "compute things faster." Does that make computers intelligent? What is intelligence? As one of my computer engineering instructors once told our class, "Some people think that computers are intelligent. In fact, they are very simple -- all they can do is process 1's and 0's. It's just that they are also very fast -- so fast, that they can create the illusion of intelligence.

As to your question ("How do I know this isn't being asked by a computer?"), worst case, the computer is not asking the question; a program, written by a person, would be asking the question. Computers don't do anything that programmers haven't painstakingly programmed them to do.

Can a computer -- absent a program meticulously written by a person (or more likely, a team of highly trained individuals with the proper background knowledge) -- do any of the following:

- Write a riveting book
- Make a medical diagnosis
- Cure a disease
- Invent something useful
- Make an intelligent decision about changing the rules of a sport
- Debate a social issue intelligently
- Make a decision concerning national defense policy
- Improve an economic crisis
- Update a dictionary to reflect changes in language
- Manage a person's time well

Of course not! People can use computers to do any of the above tasks more efficiently, but computers would not be able to do any of them on their own, or even think to do any of them on their own, or even be aware of the issues. Computers have no sense of good will, no sense of curiosity, no sense of taste or beauty. At best, they have artificial intelligence -- the ability to acquire "knowledge" based on carefully constrained conditions and human-developed rule sets using highly specialized software.

You say that computers "store a lot of information." So what? So do people. People use filing cabinets; computers use disk drives. Having access to a file on a disk drive does not constitute intelligence. Anyone that has received a "File Not Found" message understands that.

Computers are very good at data processing -- far superior to people -- but this is because of their speed, not their intelligence. Don't confuse data processing with intelligence. I'm asking you to THINK about this (something that a computer cannot do, by the way).

Lastly, even if you were a "computer asking the question," it's still people answering the questions. Yahoo! did not write a program that answers questions; they built a forum where people can ask questions, and have other people answer questions. But, unfortunately, the computer isn't smart enough to prevent stupid questions from being asked. Yours seemed like one of the more interesting ones -- at least at first -- but if you're going to stubbornly maintain your position that computers have more "intelligence," instead of learning from what other people are saying -- then I think it would be best for me to make the intelligent decision of not wasting any more time in this forum...

Answer 2

It's not a matter of surpassing it. Our brains are slower, so we have a tough time learning new things. Human intelligence and technology are CONVERGING and will work together. It is not a competition. Read "The Singularity is Near" by Ray Kurzweil. I'm just starting it.

Answer 3

How in the world can you say technology has surpassed out minds? Its not even close. If it were true then technology would rule and it does not, I still have an off switch.

Answer 4

the human mind is smarter than any sort of machine, the machine cant exist without the human inventing it, now a machine can process information faster than the human brain maybe, and it can sort through information from thousands of human brains at once, but it simply cant out think a human mind

Answer 5

I believe that whenever humans face problems relating to technology, it is because humans have not created technology advanced enough to not create problems for humans

Answer 6

I would have to say alot. Meds they put you on something then find out it cause 10 more side effects then the one they started off with including heartattcks or worse.

Answer 7

aint using their brain/mind/thoughts/life energy in the right way.priorities are way out of line.structuraly it's a joke. yes, it is true, h.b.'s can become even more of an organic robot. or maybe start all over again. yikes, i hate to think about it. god bless the sacred why. my conjecture your indulgences. my thanks. hope it helps you to think for your self. have fun.jlf

Answer 8

It hasn't yet. Not as long we understand it.