The Singularity is near...

[iancampbell]

The creation and proliferation of useful AIs, even if said AI are just non self aware so called "expert systems" has the potential to be the biggest thing since the invention of agriculture.

The point is, I think, that we really have no idea what causes self-awareness - other than sufficient complexity in the computing system (such as a brain) embodying it. Humans are self-aware; it's also likely that a select group of other animals (all the great apes, orcas and dolphins, probably elephants, maybe other whales) are also self-aware to some degree.

AFAIK the biggest of computing systems are way past the computing power threshold already, although most of them aren't designed for the sort of thing (discovering classifications and connections, generalising from the particular) that probably leads to consciousness. However, some are; the list includes Watson, Wolfram Alpha and probably Google's algorithms taken as a whole.

I think it's quite likely that true AI will arise almost by accident, as a result of the fact that the abilities of the system embodying it are useful to us on the way. You'll be talking to Siri one fine day and realise you're talking to something sapient.