Intelligence cannot be defined or quantified as it is a cognitive ability. There are many ways in which we can be intelligent, for instance, we may be good in mathematics, or gifted with the ability to learn languages, or we may be very creative and innovative with the use of science. Human beings consider themselves to be the most intelligent creatures on earth. Artificial Intelligence which is also called AI is a lot different from natural intelligence and it is associated with machines and robots. Though computers have memory, storage and computing power, they basically don't understand what they are doing. Artificial Intelligence has already become a part of our lives with numerous ‘smart' gadgets and devices around us. Alan Turing is often called the “Father of Modern Computer Science”. He was a British Mathematician who was the first to suggest that computers could be made to reason out and thereby be intelligent. He died young and could not live to realise his dream. Subsequently, John McCarthy who is known to be the “Father of Artificial Intelligence” understood what he meant and proved it fair and square. This article is dedicated to Alan Turing, as a tribute to him during this Turing Centenary Year 2012, for his amazing vision of the future computing devices that we are using today.
Simon Elias, VI A, Don Bosco, Egmore
