Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you for inviting me to talk about the subject of the difference between a brain and a computer.
The difference between a brain and a computer can be expressed in a single word, that is, complexity.
The large mammalian brain is the most complicated thing, for its size, known to us. The human brain weighs three pounds, but in that three pounds are ten billion neurons and a hundred billion smaller cells. These many billions of cells are interconnected in a vastly complicated network that we can't begin to interpret as yet.
下午好，女士們，先生們，感謝你們邀請我談一下大腦與電腦的區(qū)別問題。
大腦與電腦的差別可以用“復(fù)雜性”這三個字來表明。
哺乳動物碩大的腦子就其體積而言是我們所知道的最為復(fù)雜的東西。人腦的重量為3磅，而這3磅卻包含著100億個神經(jīng)元以及1000億個更小的細(xì)胞。千百億個大腦細(xì)胞互為串聯(lián)，形成了一張我們還無法開始解釋的極為復(fù)雜的網(wǎng)絡(luò)。
Even the most complicated computer man has yet built can't compare in intricacy with the brain. Computer switches and components number in the thousands rather than in the billions. What's more, the computer switch is just an on-off device, whereas the brain cell is itself possessed of a tremendously complex inner structure.
Can a computer think? That depends on what you mean by "think". If solving a mathematical problem is "thinking", then a computer can "think" and do so much faster than a man. Of course, most mathematical problems can be solved quite mechanically by repeating certain straightforward processes over and over again.
就復(fù)雜性來說，世界上已生產(chǎn)出的最為復(fù)雜的電腦也無法與大腦的復(fù)雜性相提并論。電腦的開關(guān)和元件充其量只有數(shù)千個，而不是數(shù)千億個。此外，電腦的開關(guān)只是一個離合裝置，而大腦細(xì)胞卻有著極其復(fù)雜的內(nèi)部結(jié)構(gòu)。
那么電腦能否思考？這取決于你所說的“思考”指的是什么？如果解決數(shù)學(xué)問題屬于“思考”，那么電腦可以思考，而且思考的速度遠(yuǎn)比人來得快。當(dāng)然，大部分?jǐn)?shù)學(xué)問題可以通過一遍又一遍地重復(fù)一些簡易的操作過程，非常機(jī)械地予以解決。
It is frequently said that computers solve problems only because they are "programmed" to do so. They can only do what men have them do. One must remember that human beings also can only do what they are "programmed" to do. Our genes program" us and our potentialities are limited by that program".
Our "program" is so much more enormously complex, though,that we might like to define "thinking" in terms of our creativity in literature, art, science and technology. In that sense, computers certainly can't think. Surely, though, if a computer can be made complex enough, it can be as creative as we are. If it could be made as complex as a human brain, it could be the equivalent of a human brain and do whatever a human brain can do.
我們經(jīng)常聽到人們說，電腦處理問題是因?yàn)殡娔X設(shè)有能讓其處理問題的程序，它們只能按人的指令行事。我們應(yīng)該知道，人類也設(shè)有程
序，人類也同樣按照所編制的程序行事。我們的基因給我們編寫了“程序”，我們的所作所為無不受制于這個“程序”。
我們大腦的“程序”極其復(fù)雜，我們或許可以從人類在文學(xué)、藝術(shù)、科學(xué)和技術(shù)上的創(chuàng)造力這個角度給“思維”下定義。從這個意義上說，電腦肯定無法思維。當(dāng)然啰，如果電腦可以制作得足夠復(fù)雜，它們也可以有同我們?nèi)祟愐粯拥膭?chuàng)造性。假若電腦可以制作得同人腦一樣復(fù)雜，電腦便可成為人腦的同類，也可以去做人腦所能做的一切。
But how long will it take to build a computer complex enough to duplicate the human brain? Perhaps, not as long as some people think. Long before we approach a computer as complex as our brain, we will perhaps build a computer that is at least complex enough to design another computer more complex than itself. This more complex computer could design one still more complex.
The point of concern is that humanity is not only creating a servant, but also a threatening rival.
那么制造出一臺復(fù)雜的足以復(fù)制人腦的電腦還需要多久？或許不會像有些人所認(rèn)為得那么久遠(yuǎn)。早在我們動手制造一臺同我們大腦一樣復(fù)雜的電腦之前，我們也許會制造一臺電腦，它復(fù)雜到足以設(shè)計(jì)出一臺比自己更為復(fù)雜的電腦的程度。這臺更為復(fù)雜的電腦還可以設(shè)計(jì)出另外一臺復(fù)雜程度高于自己的電腦。
問題在于人類不僅在制造仆人，同時也在制造威脅自己生存的競爭對手。
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