Computers can only analyze inside the box. Remarkable humans have the meta-ability to go outside ourselves, look back inside, and explore our abiliti… - Robert J. Marks II

Those who believe in the coming of Strong AI argue that non-algorithmic consciousness will be an emergent property as AI complexity ever increases. In other words, consciousness will just happen, as a sort of natural outgrowth of the code’s increasing complexity. Such unfounded optimism is akin to that of a naive young boy standing in front of a large pile of horse manure. He becomes excited and begins digging into the pile, flinging handfuls of manure over his shoulders. “With all this horse poop,” he says, “there must be a pony in here somewhere!” Strong AI proponents similarly claim, in essence, “With all this computational complexity, there must be some consciousness here somewhere!”

[Ray] Kurzweil says that “consciousness is a biological process like digestion, lactation, photosynthesis, or mitosis.” Or, to revise Descartes, “I lactate. Therefore, I think.”

Given enough time, any algorithm performed on a modern-day computer can be done by the programmer with pencil and paper.