The Emperor’s New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics

For many decades, the proponents of “artificial intelligence” have maintained that computers will soon be able to do everything that a human can do. In this book, originally published in 1989, Sir Roger Penrose takes readers on a tour through the basic principles of physics, cosmology, mathematics, and philosophy to show that human thinking can never be emulated by a machine. Penrose hypothesizes that quantum mechanics plays an essential role in the understanding of human consciousness. The collapse of the quantum wavefunction is seen as playing an important role in brain function.