Is the mind like a computer program? Could machines (ever) have consciousness?

Many psychologists have often equated the human brain to a computer program. Humans can perceive various happenings and problems in the environment and come up with solutions. Computers, on the other hand, interpret the various commands and symbol fed into it to come up with solutions to man’s problems. The key question, however, remains to be whether computers can think or be conscious. Just because they can interpret various symbols doesn’t mean that they are capable of rational judgment. Are they intelligent? Various tests have been proposed to show that a computer can be intelligent and therefore be thinking or conscious. An example is the Turing test where two humans are made to identify the computer in their communication. The test is repeated on for some time, and if the number of wrong identifications exceeds the correct ones, then the computer is intelligent and can think (Copeland, 1993). It has also been argued that humans are also not aware of most of the processes that happen in their brains. When identifying the meaning of various objects, for example, the mind will wander through various thoughts without the awareness of the individual. He will just realize that he has the answer. This argument seeks to put man and the computer in the same category as non-perfect objects.
It is, however, my view that the mind should not be compared to a computer program as the two are entirely different. While a human is capable of both syntax and semantics, the computer is only syntax-enabled, i.

e., it can only manipulate various symbol, phrases, and words but can’t understand their meaning. The Turing test can, therefore, be dismissed in this way. While it tends to show that the computer is trying to evade the scrutiny of humans which may prove its intelligence, the test is based on sentence responses that it has no idea what they mean. Should the wording of the questions change significantly, the computer may not be at a position to respond as required. One important aspect of thinking and consciousness is creativity which the computer is not capable of. Creativity involves among other definitions, connecting objects or things that seem unrelated and when this happens, one can sit back and see that there was indeed a relationship. The relationship can also be identified by other parties. This process usually involves the drifting of the mind to and from various thoughts, not just solving problems as the computer is capable of doing. It, for example, involves analyzing various possible ideas and themes to come up with a sonnet or other types of rhyming poems. Is the computer capable of doing that? The answer is no.
It is also important to note that consciousness will remain to be a biological process and will therefore only remain in humans. While it may be argued that the working of neurons is similar to that of computer programs in that both involve the transfer of electrical signals binary. Brains, however, contain electrostatic forces, biochemical reactions, and other molecular processes that reinforce consciousness. The fact, therefore, remains that while the computer may seek to recreate the processes in a human brain, the platform will always be a model of the brain and not the actual brain. The computer will therefore never be conscious nor come close to be similar to the brain.
References
Copeland, J. (1993). Artificial Intelligence: A Philosophical Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.