Outdone

Computers may one day be able to reason exactly as humans do, but will they ever be as dumb? I had always thought that was impossible. Now, however, I’m not so sure. The other day, I was in Penn Station on my way home from work. A team of scientists had set up a table with a laptop running the latest pattern-recognition software, and they were asking passersby to suggest questions for the computer. With twenty minutes on my hands, I asked it to find the best place for me to sit while waiting for my train. The word “processing” blinked on the screen for a minute or so. Then a photo appeared, with an “X” and a flashing arrow marking the spot. I looked more closely. The place the computer had indicated was nearby, on a busy stairway, directly beneath a sign that said “Do Not Sit On Stairs”—the very spot I often choose myself!