A new generation in computing: Microelectronics and artificial intelligence may produce advanced computers that are both fast and smart

The two perennial questions that have confronted the computing field since its inception are how machines can be made faster and how they can be made smarter. It is generally appreciated that a computer can carry out thousands or millions of basic instructions each second, but few, if any, understand how it would be possible for a machine to exhibit behavior that would be considered intelligent if done by a human. Mere rote repetition of steps, as might be involved in adding numbers, inverting matrices, or even solving certain equations, rely more on mechanics than on intellect.