I think, therefore, I am.  This famous statement is attributed to the 16th century French philosopher Rene Descartes, who, in his philosophical meditations argued that the only thing we can be certain to exist is our thinking mind.  But what is thought?  How can we define a ‘thinking mind’?  These are questions which have inspired philosophers for centuries, and these are questions which I believe will have major significance in the future.
Today we have technology that, only 100 years ago, would have seemed like magic. We are able to communicate nearly instantaneously across the globe and launch space craft to explore our solar system. Of all the technological advancement s made, the computer has been the largest contributor to human understanding.  The invention of the computer has allowed us to do things which would otherwise be impossible to do, and the amazing thing is that computers continue to become more and more powerful.
Could it be that 100 years from now we would not be able to distinguish a computer from a human? Is it even possible to create an artificial intelligence capable of true thought? Before we can answer these questions we must at least try to understand what it means to think.  This is why those questions posed centuries ago by philosophers still remain relevant today.