While Meursault can be seen as a computer he is not because his thoughts are genuine and not simulated. This raises the question however of how close computers and robots can get to being human. Even though Meursault appears to not display very much emotion or have any emotion, all the feelings he does have are genuine. He feels loneliness, [homesickness], irritation, and other things that robots can not actually feel; they can only simulate common responses to those feelings that humans usually display. Because Meursault does not display emotion and only feels emotion, he is a good tool in analyzing the fine line between humans and robots. Meursault is essentially proof that robots cannot be like humans. If a robot tried to become Meursault, it would not have any emotions to display and would therefore do nothing. (quote from website).
While we can think of Meursault as a computer, he still has a human body. This thinking raises the question of what makes something human. The mind, body or both?
Of course, a machine can never truly be human unless we figure out a way to literally construct and program living human cells. However, how close can we simulate thought.
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