DARPA IS WORKING ON A “SELF-AWARE COMPUTER” — well, sort of. I think you could meet these specs without self-awareness, but it would be pretty strong AI:

The “cognitive system” DARPA envisions would reason in a variety of ways, learn from experience and adapt to surprises. It would be aware of its behavior and explain itself. It would be able to anticipate different scenarios and predict and plan for novel futures.

Interesting.

UPDATE: Reader Peter Murray writes:

In cognitive science and philosophy, the term of art for an entity which appears to have consciousness, but in fact lacks it, is a zombie. The philosopher David Chalmers (link) is known for his work on consciousness from a cognitive science perspective. What DARPA is actually building, then, would seem to be a zombie AI: One which appears conscious, but in fact lacks consciousness.

The fact that we in the 21st century can seriously discuss “zombie AI” means that life in the future is far stranger than we thought it would be, circa 1950.

Yes. Though there’s an alarming shortage of flying cars.