Thinking machines

With the rise of artificial intelligence, could computers ever get smarter than humans?

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Computers are everywhere. They help us organise our lives, learn and play. They appear to be super smart, and they can now even make music, create pictures and make videos of their own. Technology is getting faster and better, but could computers ever become smarter than humans?

Brain power

Like you, computers have memory and are very good at doing calculations and recalling information. Unlike you, the fastest computers can do these calculations very quickly – about one quintillion (1 with 18 zeros) calculations per second. Games systems have already beaten human world champions at chess by practising billions of times and spotting patterns faster than any human could.