Would it ever be possible to control a computer by merely thinking?
823909
Technically, it would be possible, but likely very delicate.  Experiments are underway to assists people with disabilities, and look promising, but the control is done with very coarse setting like "thinking about talking" and "thinking about moving the foot", so that very distinct area of the brain are involved, so that they are easily distinguished in operation. To go beyond that, and be able to control very delicate instrument with high precision like it was one own limb would probably require going in and tapping the nerves directly; picking up the signal though the thickness of the skull and homing to an area that is measured in millimeter -- let alone singling out one neuron -- is asking too much.
1130179
I believe that if one puts one's mind to it, one will be surprised at how much one can accomplish.  But "anything"?  Nope.  Surely someone in the last few centuries has turned his or her will to the reversal of the Earth's rotation, to minimal effect (except for a splitting headache).  But men have walked on the moon.\n\nAlmost anything is possible, but not all by the hand of individual humans.  Sometimes we need to gang up.
39017
That might be possible in theory, but I think in reality it would be so slow that it wouldn't work.  Your best bet would probably be just to find some cheap PCs on eBay like the last answer suggested, or something like that.
217511
It has already been done, but don't jump for joy yet-- a quantum computer will never run tasks like we are used to computers running. You may already know about CPU's and binary code-- logic gates-- but quantum computers don't run based on that same type of instruction set. This makes "programming" a quantum computer a different beast in terms of getting it up and running.\n\nQuantum computers therefore will never run a device like you and I are used to, but will change computers in fundamental ways that you probably never thought about: Encryption keys, Ciphers, Identification, etc..
664158
I'd recommend using VNC (eg. http://www.realvnc.com/). It lets you remotely control a computer - viewing and interacting with it as if you were sat at the desk in from of it. The computers can be of differnt types - VNC is available on Windows, Linux and Macs, so you can, for example, use a Windows computer at home to access a Linux or Mac at work. VNC is available for free.
903992
Artificial consciousness is possible. Is it the same as biological consciousness? No. They are as different as the human body and Robosapien. \n\nI have addressed the issue of morality and artificial consciousness and intelligence and have come to the conclusion that there are no real moral issues to overcome. \n\nThe reason I have come to this conclusion is that biological minds and bodies do not have the ability to be reset or editted, as an artificial counterpart can be. A single machine can be capable of multiple artificial minds. You can swap them around as you desire without affecting the individual minds. At present, that I am aware of, biological minds do not have that ability.\n\nAnother reason is the ability to erase parts of an artificial mind. In a biological mind, you can not erase traumatic events, bad experiences, etc. If you could, shrinks would be out of business. Because of the nature of artificial memory systems, you can, though it can be tedious and a royal pain in the behind, selectively erase memories and experiences that may hinder the artificial mind. The biological mind has to live with them.\n\nIn the end, the ethical treatment of artificial minds will have to be based on very different ideas and morals than the treatment of biological minds. (Afterall, how do you kill something that can have a perfect backup stored in another room? Mortality and the artificial mind is an interesting subject in and of itself.)
197162
You are asking a question about "knowledge" and excluding conscious knowledge of itself.  The form of the question makes it difficult to answer, for it assumes that "the internet" functions as a single organism, like a giant brain.  Just because you can say "the internet" doesn't mean you're talking about a single "being" to which knowledge can be attributed.\n\nHere's another way to think about this issue: Is there any knowledge available on the internet that wasn't placed there intentionally by a human being? That is, can the internet create knowledge, or must its nodes depend upon humans to install the knowledge? Or another  way:  Is a dictionary or encyclopedia "aware" of things?\n\nSome  will argue that human "awareness" is merely a computational  process, including conscious self-awareness.  This seems to make sense, since our studies of brain-damaged people reveal that removal or destruction of brain areas always leads to restrictions in some type of human functioning.  And all the brain consists of is a huge network of nerve cells and their various interconnections, along with a variety of chemical neurotransmitters.  It would seem if a brain can "be aware" of things, then a computer network could, if complex enough and if programmed properly, "be aware" of things.\n\nStill, though, asking if "the internet" is aware is somewhat like asking if a huge population, like the entire population of the world is aware.  It's too big to count as an individual.  And some parts of the internet would be aware of some things, but not others.\n\nAs for your second  question, could machines become self-aware, I think the answer is clearly "yes".
562933
Certainly!\n\nHuman memory really isn't all that great,in terms of data bytes. \n\nFor a discussion of this, see:\n\nwww.merkle.com/humanMemory.html \n\nThough clearly it varies widely from person to person, but estimates found in the literature place it between 100 to 1000 Gigabytes. Hard drives capable of that amount of storage are available now and aren't very expensive.\n\nIt's not the amount of memory that makes humans unique from machines, it's their ability to learn, reason and process data, usually called "intelligence".  \n\nNow, if you ask, can we create a machine with "intelligence" like humans? That's more difficult, but I believe that within the next ten or twenty years machines will come along that have a very low IQ. \n\nA scientist who first explored this possibility from a theoretical standpoint was an Englishman named Alan Turing. He conceived what became known as the "Turing Machine" and attempted to describe how it would work.  As a result, he helped create the first computers back in the 1930's and '40's. You might want to read some of his papers.\n\nGood question!
232579
I wonder how people can be so clueless...yet still operate a computer.
359447
When you think about it. . . that's a good question.  I agree, you would probably have to have the brains of a computer to learn it all in one day.  To tell you the truth, you could learn maybe half of it in one day but you would never remember it all.  I guess what I'm trying to say is, in the real world, it's next to impossible.
14043
Yes, it is possible. I'll give an example using the game of life.\n\nA glider can represent a pulse, and a glider gun can generate unlimited amount of pulses. By colliding of two gliders at exact time and position, logic gate, such as AND, OR, NOT, can be constructed. There is also ways to store numbers using still life.\n\nHowever, it would be very inefficient, as the previous answer pointed out.
218315
Never, Only God can create soul, humans can't and won't. we don't understand what it is. We create AI and we did as a matter of fact, but their will be always limitaions. for we can't give the machines or computers "free will" or consciousness. so cheer up mate, they won't control you!
79284
No... short answer, but it can be controlled.
260548
No, there is no free software to do that. The thought of such software existing makes me laugh inside... although I might be able to program it. Good idea, I'll use it.
450464
Yes, but if you don't here's a good starting point.  Click on this link:\n\nhttp://computer.howstuffworks.com/pc.htm\n\nHere for free tutorials:\n\nhttp://www.techtutorials.info/
939655
Others have wondered whether or not downloading the contents of one's brain into an ultra-high-capacity chip would allow for the continuation of the consciousness. Arthur C. Clarke seems to think so. I'm not so sure, but it is an interesting Q.
90212
A better, more direct man-machine interface between the brain and electronics.