Computers that can think like Humans
The mental process of receiving, storing, transforming, developing and recovering information is known as Cognition.
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Updated November 2026. This was first published on 5 November 2021. The idea is the same. Any number below is what the original piece said then. It is not a new count.
Key takeaways
- The mental process of receiving, storing, transforming, developing and recovering information is known as Cognition.
- Machines have proved to remember information but can they perform the other functions mentioned above?
- Let’s see some more new technological advancements that might blow your mind.
The mental process of receiving, storing, transforming, developing and recovering information is known as Cognition.
Machines have proved to remember information but can they perform the other functions mentioned above?
Let’s see some more new technological advancements that might blow your mind.
What is cognitive computing? #
Cognitive computing mimics the functioning of the human brain by using machine learning that incorporates self-learning systems.
In the fullness of time, this kind of technology will ease the formation of automated IT models which will not require human assistance for solving complex problems. In cognitive computing, computerized models are used to make human thought process simulations in complex situations requiring cryptic and uncertain solutions. This concept of cognitive computing is supposed to have life-changing impacts on both the private lives of individual users as well as industries and businesses.
David Kenny, the General Manager at IBM Watson says, ‘AI can only be as smart as the people teaching it.? This is not the case for cognitive technology.
Cognitive computing is the unification of several technologies like Artificial Intelligence, sentiment analysis, machine learning, natural language processing, neural networks and contextual analysis. All these combined together is used to solve day-to-day problems in the way of humans. This new technology will reason and scale with motive and interact with humans by being just like them. Basically, cognitive computing mimics humans in their natural habitat. Also to that, cognitive computing helps to improve human decision making. Some cognitive system features may show adaptive, interactive stateful and contextual indications.
A Little History of Cognitive Computing: #
IBM Watson is the first cognitive computer manufactured by IBM. David Ferrucci, along with his team started the development of Watson.
The growth of Watson: In February 2011, Watson competed on a TV quiz show- Jeopardy! and defeated two of the all-time champions. That got Watson a large media coverage and after a couple of years, in January 2014 a business unit was created. IBM launched the IBM Watson Group that is a business dedicated to the commercialization and development of the technology. In the same year, its global headquarters is opened in New York City’s ‘Silicon Alley.? After two years, in May 2016, Watson had learned English, French, Italian< Spanish< Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese and Arabic. It had started to learn Korean which brought the total number of its conversational language to eight. Watson can even help to tackle cybercrime now, after collaborating with eight top universities.
How does cognitive computing work? #
According to Wikipedia, ’the term cognitive computing has been used to refer to new hardware and/or software that mimics the functioning of the human brain and helps to improve human decision making.?
Unlike Artificial Intelligence, cognitive computing serves as assistance instead of accomplishing the task by itself. Faster and more accurate data analysis is the main objective of cognitive computing. Humans can retain the upper hand, without having to worry about the mistakes and errors made by the machine learning system.
Cognitive computing generates solutions to many problems by using self-learning algorithms based on data mining and pattern recognition.
To reach this accomplishment, the cognitive computing system must be i) adaptive, ii) interactive, iii) iterative and stateful and iv) contextual.
What can this smart technology do? #
Cognitive computing can be used in various fields, from retail to healthcare, from banking and finance to education.
Retail: Cognitive computing helps the marketing team to collect more data about the market which can be then analysed to make retailers more adaptive and efficient. This leads to more sales and finer customer care service. Healthcare: Cognitive computing helps medical professionals in taking the best decisions for the treatment of their patients. Taking errorless decisions will empower doctors to better diagnose and treat their patients. This also helps them to customize treatment modules based on the needs of the patients. Banking and Finance: Cognitive computing will help the banking industry to operate efficiently, simplify customer engagement and grow revenues. Cognitive banking also customizes a customer support system. This helps in making clever investment decisions, based on facts like is the customer a risk-taker or risk-averse. If the authorization is given, the technology will be able to understand the personality of the customers based on their content posted online. Education: Cognitive computing will reshape the education industry. It can already search journals, books and research papers from the digital library within seconds and provide you with the required materials. It can also provide the students with personal tutorials, guidance and also explain critical concepts at their own pace.
The other fields that use cognitive computing for the betterment of their industry include cybersecurity, the logistics industry and many more.
Quantum Computing #
Quantum computing focuses on the development of computer technology based on Quantum theory Principles. Quantum Theory explains the behaviour of energy and material down to the atomic and subatomic levels.
These supercomputers are based on the two features of quantum physics, i.e., Superposition and entanglement.
Quantum computers handle operations with higher speed and lesser energy consumption when compared with conventional computers.
The contribution of Quantum computing in the fields of finance, medicine, polymer design, machine learning, artificial intelligence, big data, nuclear science, aerospace designing and military affairs can be huge.
Quantum Computing differs from classical computing as it processes information in a different way. Transistors which are either 1 or 0 are used by classical computers while quantum computers use qubits which can be 1 and 0 at the same time. More the linking together of transistors, more the linear power.
Building a quantum computer requires a long time and a huge amount of money. Google has spent billions of dollars trying to build a quantum computer for several years and they are hoping to get it ready by 2029.
Uses of Quantum computing: #
Once the Quantum Computers are built, there will be no industry where the applications of Quantum computing cannot be used.
Chemistry: The existence of both the transistors 1 and 0 at the same time can give power to a machine to locate molecules which will bring new opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry. Cybersecurity: along with machine learning, quantum computing can develop innumerous techniques to bring down the increasing rate of cybersecurity threats. Quantum cryptography can also help in creating new encryption methods. Finance: With the application of quantum technology, complex and massive calculations can be performed to improve the quality of the solution at a reduced development time. Weather Forecast: Quantum computers will help meteorologists in the analysis of more detailed climate models which can give better insight into the climate change crisis. Accurate predictions of the changing weather patterns can even save the lives of thousands.
In Conclusion: #
Cognitive computing will be the next-generation computing system that can communicate in human languages. And quantum computers will prove themselves to be much more efficient in big data analysis and simulations. There will be limitless applications of these new technologies.
Questions and answers #
What is cognitive computing? #
Cognitive computing mimics the functioning of the human brain by using machine learning that incorporates self-learning systems. In the fullness of time, this kind of technology will ease the formation of automated IT models which will not require human assistance for solving complex problems.
What can this smart technology do? #
Cognitive computing can be used in various fields, from retail to healthcare, from banking and finance to education. Retail: Cognitive computing helps the marketing team to collect more data about the market which can be then analysed to make retailers more adaptive and efficient.