Currently, one of the major underlying questions in cognitive science is whether computers will ever exhibit a quality that could be likened to intelligence.  This requires a thorough understanding of what intelligence is, what qualities comprise intelligence, and what an intelligent being should be able to do.  This is an important question to be raised because of the ethical and philosophical ramifications resulting from the application of different viewpoints on this problem.

Many researchers in varied disciplines have postulated on possible objections to the idea of computer intelligence.  In 1950, Alan Turing posed a simple answer to this question:  if it were possible for a human questioner to be unable to differentiate between a human operator at a console and a machine, for a considerable length of time, the machine could be thought of as exhibiting intelligence.  For many, though, this test seems to trivialize the diverse, fundamental problems associated with bestowing computers the prestigious title of intelligence that is currently known to be owned solely by humankind.