Introduction
Man, compared to some machines, is a creature of very impressive powers. He can do almost anything conceivable – read, write, speak and understand. He can calculate, remember, selectively forget, he can imagine, ponder, solve highly difficult theoretical problems, he can create and enjoy music of all genres and so many other things.1
However, one of the most spectacular recent manifestations of his intelligence has been the design and construction of machines which seem to rival him in some of his more sophisticated abilities. We may not know how far this development will go, but it is no more fashionable to say, as Donald Michie once said of the social challenge of computers, ‘high speed morons’2. The point is, today, computers play draughts, solve difficult problems in logic, compose dull but passable music, outperform many other exacting tasks of a non-numerical nature.
