Artificial intelligence could be on par with human intellect within the next 20 years, claims a latest study.

There would be 32 times more technical progress during the next half century than there was in the entire 20th century, with technology advancing at an accelerating speed, said the study.

''Computer power will match human intelligence by the 2020s, and it will be able to solve some of the most intractable problems of the 21st century,'' the Independent quoted American computer guru Ray Kurzweil as saying, in his address to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

With silicon-based technology following the 'law of accelerating returns,' the computer chip has doubled in power in every two years leading to an ever-accelerating progression and miniaturisation in all chip-based technologies, the study revealed.

''The more important software insights would be gained in part from the reverse engineering of the human brain, a process well under way with two dozen regions of the human brain modelled and simulated,'' he said.

''Once non-biological intelligence matches the range and subtlety of human intelligence, it will necessarily soar past it because of the continuing acceleration of information-based technologies, as well as the ability of machines to instantly share their knowledge,'' Dr Kurzweil stated.

''By understanding disease and ageing processes, we would be in a position to stop and reverse the progression of disease and ageing with dramatic gains in health and longevity,'' he concluded.