Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you for inviting me to talk about the subject of the difference between a brain and a computer.
The difference between a brain and a computer can be expressed in a single word, that is, complexity.
The large mammalian brain is the most complicated thing, for its size, known to us. The human brain weighs three pounds, but in that three pounds are ten billion neurons and a hundred billion smaller cells. These many billions of cells are interconnected in a vastly complicated network that we can't begin to interpret as yet.
下午好，女士们，先生们，感谢你们邀请我谈一下大脑与电脑的区别问题。
大脑与电脑的差别可以用“复杂性”这三个字来表明。
哺乳动物硕大的脑子就其体积而言是我们所知道的最为复杂的东西。人脑的重量为3磅，而这3磅却包含着100亿个神经元以及1000亿个更小的细胞。千百亿个大脑细胞互为串联，形成了一张我们还无法开始解释的极为复杂的网络。
Even the most complicated computer man has yet built can't compare in intricacy with the brain. Computer switches and components number in the thousands rather than in the billions. What's more, the computer switch is just an on-off device, whereas the brain cell is itself possessed of a tremendously complex inner structure.
Can a computer think? That depends on what you mean by "think". If solving a mathematical problem is "thinking", then a computer can "think" and do so much faster than a man. Of course, most mathematical problems can be solved quite mechanically by repeating certain straightforward processes over and over again.
就复杂性来说，世界上已生产出的最为复杂的电脑也无法与大脑的复杂性相提并论。电脑的开关和元件充其量只有数千个，而不是数千亿个。此外，电脑的开关只是一个离合装置，而大脑细胞却有着极其复杂的内部结构。
那么电脑能否思考？这取决于你所说的“思考”指的是什么？如果解决数学问题属于“思考”，那么电脑可以思考，而且思考的速度远比人来得快。当然，大部分数学问题可以通过一遍又一遍地重复一些简易的操作过程，非常机械地予以解决。
It is frequently said that computers solve problems only because they are "programmed" to do so. They can only do what men have them do. One must remember that human beings also can only do what they are "programmed" to do. Our genes program" us and our potentialities are limited by that program".
Our "program" is so much more enormously complex, though,that we might like to define "thinking" in terms of our creativity in literature, art, science and technology. In that sense, computers certainly can't think. Surely, though, if a computer can be made complex enough, it can be as creative as we are. If it could be made as complex as a human brain, it could be the equivalent of a human brain and do whatever a human brain can do.
我们经常听到人们说，电脑处理问题是因为电脑设有能让其处理问题的程序，它们只能按人的指令行事。我们应该知道，人类也设有程
序，人类也同样按照所编制的程序行事。我们的基因给我们编写了“程序”，我们的所作所为无不受制于这个“程序”。
我们大脑的“程序”极其复杂，我们或许可以从人类在文学、艺术、科学和技术上的创造力这个角度给“思维”下定义。从这个意义上说，电脑肯定无法思维。当然啰，如果电脑可以制作得足够复杂，它们也可以有同我们人类一样的创造性。假若电脑可以制作得同人脑一样复杂，电脑便可成为人脑的同类，也可以去做人脑所能做的一切。
But how long will it take to build a computer complex enough to duplicate the human brain? Perhaps, not as long as some people think. Long before we approach a computer as complex as our brain, we will perhaps build a computer that is at least complex enough to design another computer more complex than itself. This more complex computer could design one still more complex.
The point of concern is that humanity is not only creating a servant, but also a threatening rival.
那么制造出一台复杂的足以复制人脑的电脑还需要多久？或许不会像有些人所认为得那么久远。早在我们动手制造一台同我们大脑一样复杂的电脑之前，我们也许会制造一台电脑，它复杂到足以设计出一台比自己更为复杂的电脑的程度。这台更为复杂的电脑还可以设计出另外一台复杂程度高于自己的电脑。
问题在于人类不仅在制造仆人，同时也在制造威胁自己生存的竞争对手。
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