Reccomend essays to a young, inquiring mind
megaduck: "Computing Machinery and Intelligence", A.M. Turing, 1950.  This is where the Turing Test comes from. Technically a journal paper, but reads more like an essay.If you're into computers at all, this is a must read.  Alan Turing not only gave us modern computer science, he also kicked off the field of Artificial Intelligence with this groundbreaking paper.  He opens it with the question "Can machines think?", and then proceeds to examine it from every conceivable angle.  Not only does he predict strong AI, but Turing also provides methods of development and a robust framework for testing it.This paper's massively important, but it's also a pretty good read.  It's about 20 pages long, written in reasonably accessible style, and requires no serious mathematical background.  Turing was an amazingly clear thinker, and that really comes through.  There's also a lot of sly humor embedded in there.  If you're looking for brain candy, this one's a gem.There's a copy at
http://www.loebner.net/Prizef/TuringArticle.html