We don’t understand how the brain works but we understand what it does on a utility level: Self learning of tasks/commands by watching others, reading a learned language and practicing.
I used to believe what you said just last year and didn’t think machines would be able to accomplish that. But as an engineer, I’ve had the chance to witness some cutting edge AI and it is startling stuff. The machines are truly beginning to learn tasks on their own without any task-based programming.
The machines now have the ability to process large masses of information through their sensors and make sense of it without being told every minute motion. Learning purely by watching others and then perfecting their own techniques automatically. Basically programming themselves in real time while trying new things. Exactly how children and animals begin to learn.
I believe the advancement will be exponential from now on and the machines will surpass the mental ability of most humans in 10-20 years.
They also have the advantage of a global neural network that allows them to cross exchange new knowledge instantly. Plus no knowledge would ever be forgotten or lost due to death. The possibilities are incredible and also frightening...
“We don’t understand how the brain works but we understand what it does on a utility level: Self learning of tasks/commands by watching others, reading a learned language and practicing.”
This is only one portion of the human mind though. We could assume that portion (which we still can only approximate) is the totally, but it would be an unfounded assumption.
Heck, we cannot even rightfully assert that “the brain”, which you are referring to, is the only component that makes up “the mind” that we actually subjectively experience. Materialists assert such, but they do so with no evidence or argument, so it’s simply an assumption. However, you can’t write a computer simulation based on unfounded assumptions. Garbage in, garbage out.