Computare Ergo Sum?

I will take the liberty of assuming most of us have heard Descartes' much-quoted phrase 'cogito ergo sum', usually translated into English as 'I think therefore I am', from his 1637 treatise Discourse on the Method.... This part of his epistemological theory is also addressed in his 1641 Metaphysical Meditations, as a part of which Descartes systematically doubts the existence of everything he can sense, including the existence of himself. This doubt in his own existence leads him to conclude he must exist, for there must be something present to do the doubting.

However the inspiration for this blog post came from the part of Descartes' Metaphysical Meditations in which he states that a 'thinking thing' is a thing which 'doubts, understands, conceives, affirms, denies, wills, refuses, imagines, perceives'. And so I asked, does this 'thing' have to be human? Does it even have to be alive?

As I type this, having mis-typed 'conceives' (i before e except after c, Katie), blogger, the internet, a computer somewhere is telling me that I've mistyped it. Not only is it pointing out my mistake, it's suggesting how I might improve my spelling; this computer knows what I wanted to say. Is this not an example of doubt that the spelling is correct, understanding of what I meant to type, refusal of the incorrect word and perception of the mistake? Therefore, can a computer fulfil all of Descartes' requirements for being a 'thinking thing'? If Descartes were ever to see a computer no doubt he would be shocked and probably terrified, but whether or not he would class it as a 'thinking thing' is questionable. Below I have defined the terms Descartes uses, and considered how they can be applied to the function of computers.

Doubt - 'A feeling of uncertainty or a lack of conviction'
When one searches for something in a search engine, such as Google, they may express doubt about your terms, asking 'do you mean...?'. Although one might argue that google is only able to do this by means of a saved search history, this is also how humans express doubt. We think something is unlikely judging by our experience.

link to my search results: Rene Descat, Philosofur http://cheezburger.com/2559284480

Understanding - 'To perceive the intended meaning of [something]'
Siri understands the meaning of a collection of sounds as words.

Conception - 'To form or devise [something] in the mind
Computers can be used to run simulations of things humans don't have the time or processing power to calculate the outcome of. They are used to predict an outcome under a specific set of circumstances, for example here is a paper about a computer simulation model for predicting the outcome of a yacht race. Is this outcome not something that the computer has formed in its 'mind'?

http://people.orie.cornell.edu/shane/pubs/AmCup.pdf

Affirmation - 'State or assert positively'
My calculator affirms that 2+2 does indeed = 4. A quick internet search affirms that One Direction are not splitting up, just 'taking a break'.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/34048659/one-direction-tell-fans-were-not-splitting-up-just-taking-a-break

Denial - 'State that one refuses to admit the truth or existence of [something]'
When I try to open a recently deleted photo that still, somehow, appears in its folder on my desktop, 'file unavailable' pops up. My computer denies the existence of the photograph that I still perceive to be there.

Will - 'The faculty by which a person decides on and initiates action'
My computer knows when it needs to do an update. Then it knows when it REALLY needs to do an update. Then it shuts down and updates itself without my initiating the action; did it will it?

Refusal - 'Indicate or show that one is not willing to do something'
answers.microsoft.com have a whole discussion thread on what to do 'when your computer refuses to shut down'. Computers, it seems, know what's best for them.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-performance/my-computer-refuses-to-shut-down-restart-or-log/48387407-fe68-409a-be85-ec4a97c0684d?auth=1

Imagination - 'Form a mental image or concept of'
It might seem that this is where my analogy becomes strained, can a computer imagine a whole new concept? But, according to Descartes, humans can't either; everything we think we imagine has its origins in something we've sensed. For example, we can't ever imagine a new colour, our imagination filled with combination of the colours we already know. What computers can do is form images of something from programming input, much the same as we can imagine something we've sensed.

Perception - 'Become aware or conscious of'
Here is a photo of a computer perceiving my face in front of the camera and turning me into a Princess.

Therefore, could 'computare ergo sum' really be the case? If you pardon my colloquial analogies and probably bad use of Latin, there is a strong argument that if Descartes was ever to see a computer he would class it as a 'thinking thing' and thus existing in the same realm of being as humans. Ray Kurzweil even predicted that 2029 will be the year when 'robots have the power to outsmart their makers', at which point humans will be knocked off the humanistic pedestal of supreme beings and replaced by something they have created

However Descartes does stipulate that he believes his mind can exist without his body; humans are split dualistically between the world we sense but can't be sure of and the ethereal but certain world of whatever a 'thinking thing' is. It seems he would argue that computers are not. Remove the motherboard from your PC and it ceases to perceive, switch it off and let the battery run out and it ceases to conceive. So in conclusion, although computers are able to fulfil the functions necessary for being a 'thinking thing', they do not possess the 'thing' that enables them to exist, and therefore to be sum.

... For now.