Machine or artificial intelligence (AI) is a special area of computer science concerned with creating machines capable of functions that, in humans, require consciousness or intelligence. Whether or not there can be machine intelligence is a hotly debated point. We suggest that if intelligence can exist to varying degrees in living beings, then machine intelligence can exist even if it is no more than equivalent to the minimal living form. Let's just be reasonable and realistic in our expectations—perhaps even suspend disbelief—and we may be rewarded for our flexibility. The tone in this introductory paragraph to a technology textbook is____