Artificial intelligence emerged during the late 1950’s as an academic

Question

Artificial intelligence emerged during the late 1950’s as an academic discipline based on the assumption that computers  are able to be programmed to think like people .

(A) are able to be programmed to think like people

(B) were able to be programmed to think as people

(C) can be programmed to think as people can

(D) could be programmed to think like people

(E) are capable of being programmed to think like people do

MichaelS · Accepted Answer

Artificial intelligence emerged during the late 1950’s as an academic discipline based on the assumption that computers  are able to be programmed to think like people .
(A) are able to be programmed to think like people
(B) were able to be programmed to think as people
(C) can be programmed to think as people can
(D) could be programmed to think like people
(E) are capable of being programmed to think like people do

When you see a split in the answer choices between  like  and  as , eliminate answer choices using this rule: LIKE to compare nouns, AS to compare clauses. Don't try to anticipate the answer; you can't reliably guess which direction the question will go. For instance, the correct answer to this question could have said either  as people do  or  like people .

A uses  like  to compare  computers  to  people . OK.
B uses  as  to compare  computers  to  people . Those are both nouns. Eliminate.
C uses  as  to compare  can be programmed  to  can (be programmed ). The second instance of  be programmed  is elided, but that's not a problem. OK.
D uses  like  to compare  computers  to  people . OK.
E seems to use  like  to compare  think  to  do . Those are both verbs. Eliminate.

What next? Well, the comparison in C is illogical. the sentence is meant to say that people think, not that people can be programmed to think. By the way, when you see the word  like  in an SC, whether it's in the underlined section or not, you will almost certainly find at least one answer that makes an illogical comparison.

That leaves just A and D,  are able to be  vs.  could be . I would choose D,  could be , more for reasons of concision/awkwardness than because of the verb tense.

RaviChandra · Answer

D is the correct answer because  can  is used for general ability whereas  could  is used for possibility.

A, B and E are eliminated because  ability/capability  is not used with things

found this explanation in other thread. hope this helps

PhunsukWangdu · Answer

POE leads to option C & D

I chose option D -- correct tense usage -- correct comparison between 'computers' and 'people' using "like"

IMO option C is ambiguous because of the comparison between actions (using "as") -- sounds like we are comparing the two of the following:
- computers can be programmed to think AS
- people can (be programmed to think)

OA pls

SaraiYaseenGMAT · Answer

Artificial intelligence emerged during the late 1950's as an academic discipline based on teh assumption that computers  are unable to be programmed to think like people .

a] are unable to be programmed to think like people

b] were able to be programmed to think as people

c]can be programmed to think as people can

d]could be programmed to think like people

e] are capable of being programmed to think like people do

Some clarification on 'can' vs. 'could':

The modals (  will, can, and may  ) have past forms (  would, could, and might  ).

There are three occasions on which to use these past forms:

1.  The sentence is in the past: 
Ex. I could play piano when I was a child.

2.  Reported speech: 
Ex. She said that she could come. (Compare this to a direct quote, which would look like this: "She said, 'I can come.'")

3.  The hypothetical present: 
Ex. I could go to bed early tonight, but I want to finish the book I am reading.

4.  The hypothetical past (could/would/might+have+v3) 
Ex. I could have gone to bed early last night, but I stayed up to finish the book that I was reading.

I hope that explanation makes the 'could' in answer D a more obvious choice.

daagh · Answer

The essential things to consider here are: 1. Tense of the verb,2 improper diction and, 3, use of ‘ like ' for a clause

(A) Are able to be programmed to think like people -------  The main clause is in past tense. Use of present tense in the sub clause is wrong.  
(B) Were able to be programmed to think as people ---- –  could be  is the right choice of the word compared to  ‘were able” 
(C) can be programmed to think as people can----  shift to present tense in sub cluse is wrong when the main clause is in past tense  
(D) could be programmed to think like people ------  good choice.  
(E) are capable of being programmed to think like people do ------ 1. wrong tense, 2. using ‘like’ for comparing verb

immaculatesahai · Answer

D wins. Main clause is in past tense, hence the successive clause needs to maintain the tense.

The concept is described very well in Manhattan GMAT SC guide (Tense Sequence).

"Avoid mixing Present tense with Conditional tense and mixing Past tense with Future tense. The usual sequences are either 
1. Present+Future 
Eg. The scientist  believes  that the machine  will b e wonderful.
OR 2. Past+Conditional.
Eg. The scientist  believed  that the machine  would be  wonderful.

Hope this helps.

premnath · Answer

IMO D.
Here is my approach.

Artificial intelligence emerged during the late 1950’s as an academic discipline based on the assumption that computers  are able to be programmed to think like people.

(A)  are able  to be programmed to think like people   >> tense problem 
(B) were able to be programmed to think as people  >> wordy and 'as' compares clauses, not noun. Here People is a noun. 
(C) can be programmed to think as people can  >> tense problem 
(D) could be programmed to think like people  >> it corrects tense problem, also 'like' correctly compares nouns. Hence it is the right answer. 
(E) are capable of being programmed to think like people do  >> tense problem

mbaiseasy · Answer

Computers do not have abilities and they are not capable.... "Capable" and "able" are to "active" for inanimate objects to use.
Eliminate A, B and E.

Between C and D, we must eliminate C on grounds that it uses "can" which is not consistent with the past tense and "programmed to think as people can" . The intended meaning is to think like people.

Answer: D

akhilraz · Answer

Check the logical context to realise that in
  (C) can be programmed to think as people can.   
'as people can' refers to the ability of the people to be programmed as the computers are , and not the thinking ability.
  (D) could be programmed to think like people.   
here it correctly refers to the comparison between the thinking ability of people and computers.

Please let me know if i am right.

mihir0710 · Answer

Artificial intelligence emerged during the late 1950’s as an academic discipline based on the assumption that computers  are able to be programmed to think like people .

(A) are able to be programmed to think like people
 This gives a meaning that "Computer are themselves able to be programmed"
We actually want to say that "computer can be programmed" 
 
(B) were able to be programmed to think as people
 Three Issues : 
1st : "Were" - use of past means that computer no longer can be programmed : This is NOT intended..
2nd : Usage of "as" for comparison needs a verb after the subject.. In short we need a clause after the use of "as" ..
Here "as people  do  is required"
3rd : Same as Option A

(C) can be programmed to think as people can
 "as people   can  " is incorrect : should be "as people do"

(D) could be programmed to think like people
 Correct Choice : Comparison using "like" requires that "like be followed by a noun...which is exactly what is given here...

(E) are capable of being programmed to think like people do
 Here a clause (people do) is being compared using "like" which incorrect. Correct usage of Like for comparison shall be as mentioned in Option D

Skywalker18 · Answer

Artificial intelligence emerged during the late 1950’s as an academic discipline based on the assumption that computers  are able to be programmed to think like people .
(A) are able to be programmed to think like people - 
(B) were able to be programmed to think as people - usage of as is incorrect (When as is used for comparison, we need a verb)
(C) can be programmed to think as people can - illogical meaning- it means that people can be programmed to think
(D) could be programmed to think like people - Correct
(E) are capable of being programmed to think like people do - usage of like to compare verbs is incorrect

Answer D

1. Can we eliminate options A, C, and E because the tense of the main clause is past whereas the 'that' clause is in the present tense?

2. If we can't eliminate using decision point in 1, which is better
could be programmed to think like people
OR can be programmed to think like people

3. If we change option C as
Artificial intelligence emerged during the late 1950’s as an academic discipline based on the assumption that computers  can be programmed to think as people do 
which can be interpreted as- can be programmed to think as people think.

AjiteshArun  ,  GMATNinja  ,  MagooshExpert  ,  GMATGuruNY  ,  VeritasPrepBrian  ,  MartyTargetTestPrep  ,  DmitryFarber  ,  VeritasKarishma  ,  generis  ,  EducationAisle  ,  VeritasPrepErika  , other experts - please enlighten

dcummins · Answer

Artificial intelligence emerged during the late 1950’s as an academic discipline based on the assumption that computers are able to be programmed to think like people.

(A) are able to be programmed to think like people
Like is okay here.
Are able - refers to an assumption - a possibility. It makes less logical sense to state "are" than "could" or "may be".

(B) were able to be programmed to think as people
B is incorrect because we would require a verb to state how exactly computers were able to be programmed - to think as people do
"were able" - but to me the author is referring to an assumption made at a particular point in time, so the use of simple past here- "were able"- to refer to the actual assumption people were making at that time doesn't make much sense to me.

(C) can be programmed to think as people can

C literally says that people can be programmed. Incorrect

(D) could be programmed to think like people
Correct as it states the possibility of the assumption via "could be" and "like" correctly compares computers thinking to people's thinking.

(E) are capable of being programmed to think like people do
"of being programmed" doesn't make sense to me - computers are able to be programmed not capable.
Like people do is incorrect - we don't use like to compare two clauses.

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

No. Which is better in the noun clause, the present tense or the past tense, is debatable. I prefer the present tense, though, because the sentence is not saying, "people assumed that X." Rather, via the noun clause, the sentence is articulating the assumption. The assumption is basically timeless. So, my call is that the use of the present tense in the noun clause is actually a little better.

The sentence is articulating the assumption. The assumption is basically timeless. So, my call is that the use of present tense "can" is a little better.

Yup, "do" replaces "think," whereas "can" could only replace "can be programmed," since the sentence does not include "can think." So, your new version works.

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

STEP 1 - UNDERSTANDING INTENDED MEANING

Artificial intelligence emerged during the late 1950’s as an academic discipline based on the assumption that computers  are able to be programmed to think like people

• AI developed during the late 1950s as an academic discipline.
• It was based on a certain assumption
• The assumption was: Computers could be programmed to think like people.

1. The point of comparison/similarity is: Computers could be programmed to think the way people think.
2. The comparison marker “like” has been correctly used to bring out the similarity.
3. The expression “ computers are able to be programmed”  is awkward, wordy and most of all,  uses the wrong tense . The main clause of the sentence is in the simple past tense.  Thus, the use of “are” is incorrect.

STEP 2 – ANSWER CHOICE ELIMINATION

Choice B analysis 
Artificial intelligence emerged during the late 1950’s as an academic discipline based on the assumption that computers  were able to be programmed to think as people.

• The awkward expression “able to be” still remains
• When “as” is used for comparison, it should always be followed by a clause
• In such cases, it is incorrect to use “as” with a noun/pronoun 
• Here “as” is used for comparison but is incorrectly followed by the noun “people”

Incorrect Choice

Choice C analysis

Artificial intelligence emerged during the late 1950’s as an academic discipline based on the assumption that computers  can be programmed to think as people 
can.

• The use of “can” indicating the simple present tense of the verb “think” is incorrect since the entire sentence is in the simple past tense.

Incorrect Choice.

Choice D analysis

Artificial intelligence emerged during the late 1950’s as an academic discipline based on the assumption that computers  could be programmed to think like 
people.

1. Logical
2. Clear
3. Same as the intended meaning

Correct Choice.

Choice E analysis

Artificial intelligence emerged during the late 1950’s as an academic discipline based on the assumption that computers  are capable of being programmed to 
think like people do

• The use of the simple present “are” is incorrect since the entire sentence is in the simple past tense.
• Like/Unlike should always be followed by a noun or pronoun
• In the given sentence, “like” is followed by the clause “people do”.

Incorrect Choice.

TarunKumar1234 · Answer

Artificial intelligence emerged during the late 1950's as an academic discipline based on teh assumption that computers are unable to be programmed to think like people.

a] are unable to be programmed to think like people

b] were able to be programmed to think as people

c]can be programmed to think as people can

d]could be programmed to think like people

e] are capable of being programmed to think like people do[/quote]

Some clarification on 'can' vs. 'could':

The modals (will, can, and may) have past forms (would, could, and might).

There are three occasions on which to use these past forms:

1. The sentence is in the past:
Ex. I could play piano when I was a child.

2. Reported speech:
Ex. She said that she could come. (Compare this to a direct quote, which would look like this: "She said, 'I can come.'")

3. The hypothetical present:
Ex. I could go to bed early tonight, but I want to finish the book I am reading.

4. The hypothetical past (could/would/might+have+v3)
Ex. I could have gone to bed early last night, but I stayed up to finish the book that I was reading.

I hope that explanation makes the 'could' in answer D a more obvious choice.

VerbalBot · Answer

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