A computer that learns to talk in the same way as a young child by holding conversations with humans has been developed by scientists. The machine, which uses cutting edge artificial neural network technology to mimic the way the human brain works, was given 1,500 sentences from literature about language structure. It was then able to use this to learn how to construct new sentences with nouns, verbs, adjectives and pronouns when having a conversation with a real human. Researchers used connections between two million artificial neurons to mimic some of the processes that take place in the human brain as we learn to speak (illustrated). While some of the sentences had the rather functional approach of a computer rather than the finesse of a natural speaker, the results are still impressive.

An artificial intelligence system (AI) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has taken an IQ test designed for a young child. The results, written up by MIT Review, revealed that its IQ was equivalent to that of a four-year-old. Increasingly machines are getting better at specific tasks such as playing chess, recognising pictures and making complex commutations. But general intelligence is still proving elusive for most of them. The MIT machine - dubbed ConceptNet4 - was put through its paces by researchers from the University of Illinois, led by Stellan Ohlsson.