&quot;Get me a Coke...&quot; was accomplished in 1972 by Terry Winograd&#x27;s SHRDLU and many 3rd gen AI systems since.<p>NNs will almost certainly succeed where expert systems failed, largely because we now understand that no single monolithic pattern matcher will suffice alone.  Any cognitive engine must be composed of many components, each attuned to a different purpose and context.  And now we better recognize the huge need for learning, both for initial skill acquisition and for lifelong thereafter.<p>Minsky&#x27;s &quot;Society of Mind&quot; is probably a better illustration of how AI will evolve (if not manifest), as well as how it must integrate with our myriad collective needs and personal lives.