This scenario took a step toward becoming reality in October when Apple introduced its iPhone 4S featuring Siri, an artificial intelligence program that can recognize and respond to queries in natural language.

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Lenat had developed an artificial-intelligence program that he called Eurisko, and he decided to feed his program the rules of the tournament.

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But artificial intelligence is proving hard enough to program into ordinary, non-quantum computers.

ECONOMIST: The universe, it appears, may not be alone

There's really only one downside to Sony's whole Aibo program: The company has portrayed the cute pseudo-creatures as the future of artificial intelligence.

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