The Skynet is Falling!!

A computer that could pass the elusive “Turing Test!?”  Skynet and the T-1000 can’t be too far away! 

“Passing the Turing test is the holy grail of artificial intelligence (AI) and now researchers claim it may be possible using the world’s fastest supercomputer (IBM’s Blue Gene). This version of the Turing test pits a human conversing with a synthetic character powered by Rascals software crafted at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. RPI is aiming to pass AI’s final exam this fall, by pairing the most powerful university-based supercomputing system in the world with its new multimedia group which is designing a holodeck, a la Star Trek.”
via Slashdot

Not to mention, an AI Four Year old:

Four-year-old Eddie might behave like a typical young boy. Outside of the Second Life virtual world, however, he is anything but.

The child is a product of logic-based artificial intelligence and complex modelling techniques, and operates on what has been said to be the most powerful university-based supercomputing system in the world.

A creation of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Eddie has his own set of beliefs, and the ability to reason about his beliefs to draw conclusions in a manner that matches human children his age.
via iTNews.com