It is incredible that people who cannot spell simple words and could not pass a 7th grade English grammar test think they have a worthwhile opinion about esoteric subjects.

Evolution, creation, proofs of God's existence/non-existence, AI, et cetera are not trivial subjects. Many of the comments and opinions posted on these subjects are either naive or utter nonsense.

In particular I have seen AI systems described as consisting of an incredible number of If-Then-Else Type statements. A person with that view of AI has never come close to understanding any AI application.

Now the question after a bit of background. In prehistoric computer era, a program which beat the world chess champion would by definition be considered AI of a high degree. The actual program does not come close to being AI, nor is it structured around a lot of If-Then-Else Statements.

Big Blue beat the world champion without a hint of conscious behavior. There was nothing there saying things like "I am playing Chess" --- "I would rather be doing something else" --- "I think I am going to win this game".

Is consciousness necessary for intelligent behavior? While not AI, the ability to play world-class chess simulates a type of intelligent behavior. If that can be done without consciousness, what intellegent behavior cannot be done without consciousness?

Next, I believe that somebody will someday create a computer (perhaps not using electronic components) which has consciousness. However, I cannot imagine being able to decide whether a computer has consciousness.I believe other people have consciousness because I believe I have it and because others seem similar to me in so many ways, I cannot believe that they are not conscious. My belief in the consciousness of others is highly subjective & due to thought processes internal to myself. I cannot imagine an objective test which would validate the consciousness of something non-biological in origin. Can any of you?