Can a robot write a symphony? Can it turn a blank canvas into a beautiful masterpiece? These questions were asked by detective Spooner in Isaac Asimov’s novel I, Robot, and subsequently immortalised by Will Smith on the big screen when he interrogates the artificially intelligent machine, Sonny. Sonny’s response: "Can you?"

Sonny’s question can be extended: does the capability of a robot solely depend on the capabilities of those who designed it? Can they ever replace humans? The back and forth debate that contemplates the real intellectual capabilities of artificial machines was reignited last year when scientists in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge created a ‘robot scientist’ who they claimed made an ‘independent’ scientific discovery. And while the recent ‘chip and PIN’ furore in the media, after University of Cambridge scientists claimed the machine can be fooled, may be seemingly unrelated, the two stories demonstrate one thing. Machines may well be able to perform a million calculations a minute, quickly read incredibly complicated and encrypted information, and even make discoveries in an independent way, but only if they have been given specific instructions on how to do so. And they will inevitably contain failings which only humans can overcome.

While the press are always keen to claim advanced technology could eventually replace humans, they have neglected the fact that, so far, any piece of software or hardware that exists can only do what it has been programmed to do. It may be possible to write a program that writes a symphony, but that would depend on our own understanding of how to do that. One thing to remember is that most advanced technology is designed to process, sort through and output securely a lot of information quickly. But machines have yet to find a pattern between two seemingly unrelated things in a way that a stand up comedian, philosopher, or psychiatrist could. So take articles which imply machines could replace humans with a pinch of salt.