Passing the Turing test?

This is a very interesting short article from this morning's New York Times, which touches on some key points re the development of AI:

How a Computer Knows What Many Managers Don't

Bottom line -- software can already outperform people in analysis of highly complex situations, by leveraging the natural advantages (computational speed and efficiency, reliability, additional sensory apparati, perfect memory, immediate access to the complete experience and intelligence of peers, etc.) of "artificial" beings.

The article correctly points out that people have to tune the algorithms and find new sources of key data, and also "override" the software on occasion. But the article makes it seem as if this is because of some inherent limitation in AIs, which is wrong. Actually, this is because:
1) the current software has not yet been extended with the tools to mine the universe for new, usable sources. This absolutely can and will be done, using off-the-shelf search (google, anyone?) and analytic software.

2) the current software has not yet been extended to have good enough access to breaking news, and good enough ability to identify trends and then follow up on them by scanning for and evaluating news in that specific focus area. This is also very doable, however.

So this article basically says to me "we are on track for real AI in 10-15 years, easy".

I will have much more to say on this topic in future posts, as we explore the evolution of AI, and the future of humanity -- the "real" topic of this blog :-) I would urge anyone interested in this topic to explore The Singularity is Near, although I do not agree with Kurzweil's position 100% -- I actually do not think there will be a "singularity" as such, although we WILL pass the "AI is better than human intelligence" threshold (in messy, often un-recognized fits and starts) in 30 years or so, and that all hell will break loose. I think perceptive folks are already seeing the early indicators all around us -- as this article highlights. Just imagine what will happen to our economy, to the possibilities for war, to the "meaning of life", etc. A few little things like that.