Surely computers cannot be intelligent ±they can do only what their programmers tell them to. Do you agree? why or why not?

Question

anonymous · Answer

It would kind of depend on how sophisticated the computer was. Based on our current technology however; I don't think we really have any self-aware AI computers quite yet. I suppose it might be possible to program a computer to evolve or come up with it's own processing algorithms (mutating it's own code which is basically it's DNA)

directrix · Answer

I don't consider computers to be sentient beings. Nor, do I consider them to be intelligent. 

Computers do behave in ways which their programmers do not anticipate. The electrons, the code, the zeros and ones - they randomly comingle and reform into a sequence of unprogrammed commands that cause actions by the computer. These actions appear to be purposeful decisions of a computer with an intelligent or evil mind of its own.