# Quote — John Twelve Hawks, Spark

> It took me years to realize that a computer would never truly be able to say cogito ego sum although dozens of lurid Hollywood movies about robots want to leave that impression. A computer thinks....that is, it realizes it has been switched on...but it doesn't know it exists.

- Author: [John Twelve Hawks](https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-twelve-hawks.md)
- Book: [Spark](https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-twelve-hawks/spark.md)
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Twelve_Hawks#Spark_(2014)) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-twelve-hawks/spark/it-took-me-years

## More from this book

> All language – everything we say – is just an approximation of reality.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-twelve-hawks/spark/all-language-everything.md)

> Artificial intelligence is a concept that obscures accountability. Our problem is not machines acting like humans -- it’s humans acting like machines.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-twelve-hawks/spark/artificial-intelligence-is-a-concept.md)

> Machines, no matter how sophisticated, can only follow programs. If we sleepwalk through our lives, then we’re no better than machines. Only humans are capable of a job done well -- which means thinking about the consequences of our actions. A job done well pays the bills, but it also improves the lives of everyone around us.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-twelve-hawks/spark/machines-no-matter.md)