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From Heather F.: "Along with that, more complex things (I'm thinking of humans in particular right now) don't compute or analyze certain problems with algorithms."

At the same time, however, when you boot up a computer game and fight against it's AI, the AI doesn't appear to be running algorithms - it might be dodging behind cover, shooting at you, running around, or running away. Yet it's still running an algorithm. Perhaps we just don't see or understand the algorithms that control us?

Also, there is the argument to be made that part of the algorithm that controls us provides free will - we studied some CAs that provided for randomness as well as a pattern, so perhaps we are governed by a rule that, eventually, somewhere along the line, makes us conscious and aware and able to change things.

I think what's important is not to look at us as cellular automatons, but instead to look at us as the result of the automatons.