Places to Chat
Philosophy
Chatterbox: Down to Earth
Philosophy
Philosophy
So, Vyolette made a very casual comment on the #GetRidOfCAPTCHA thread (http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/chirpatcricket/node/387227). Something along the lines of "I want to know I'm talking to real kid." Now me being me, I went and attacked her with a barrage of philosophy. What makes a robot different than a human? What if you succesfully created a child-like AI? How are you different than a robot? Aren't you both just neural networks? Sorry, Vy.
So, anyway, I figured we should have a thread for such stuff. Please keep it civil.
submitted by coyotedomino, age 15, Ephermal
(November 4, 2018 - 9:35 pm)
(November 4, 2018 - 9:35 pm)
Hahaha. XD This made me laugh when I saw it.
Welp, to answer your question over in CaC: I honestly don't know. I don't know enough about how androids and robots and AIs work to give you an educated answer. I do think that there is a difference between humans and robots/androids/AIs in regards to emotional and mental growth, but that's as far as my understanding and knowledge/thoughts about the subject go.
(November 5, 2018 - 8:06 am)
But why is "there a difference between humans and robots/androids/AIs in regards to emotional and mental growth"?
(November 5, 2018 - 10:40 pm)
You know, I don't think there is.
Obviously, at this point in time, we don't have the ability to create that advanced technology. There is a profound difference between the complexities of humans' mental functions and that of even our most advanced robots.
However, in the future, if we were able to manufacture emotional/mental capacity in such a way that it perfectly mimics humans, I personally see no difference. What makes our consciousness superior or more "real"? In the end, there is no difference between a naturally-occurring diamond and one created in a lab. It's just our own twisted sense of purity that makes us believe so.
The real problem comes when we begin to develop AI systems that exceed our own brainpower. (Personally, I think that kind of tech would be better directed to evolving humans' brains rather than creating systems of intelligence from scratch. But that's a different discussion.)
(November 5, 2018 - 11:56 pm)
Precisely!
(November 6, 2018 - 9:08 pm)
(November 5, 2018 - 12:29 pm)
I heard a radio piece about Alan Turing (we stan him) that changed my mind about this, because I realized humans are also basically a giant bunch of programming that causes us to react in certain ways to certain things. We're taught behaviors and ideas too, and just because robots are taught them more blatantly doesn't mean they shouldn't be considered kinda like us. This reasoning also really freaks me out when I think about it more, though. Like are humans really just programmed? If everything is either nature or nurture, where's the part that's us? I do not have answers.
(November 5, 2018 - 6:17 pm)
There's a thought experiment called the China Brain. You have everyone in China, over 1.3 billion people, use their phones to call each other in a specific pattern. This pattern is imitating the neurons in the brain. Thus every person in China functions as a neuron and China itself becomes a brain. Does the China Brain have a consciousness? At first it seems like obviously not. But why not? It should. And if it does, what happens to the consciousness when everyone puts down their phones?
(November 5, 2018 - 10:10 pm)
But what are the people saying when they call? Is the China Brain reacting to anything? Is there any sensory information for it to recieve and process? Are these neuron people making decisions based on messages? Are they even getting messages?
(November 6, 2018 - 4:19 pm)
I don't think it really matters if they're saying anything, you just need a single binary communication. And the rest, I think it's basically just imitating the actions of a brain. Everyone has their instructions, they act as a neuron and pass on the message. *shrugs* There's more about it on Wikipedia. Hey, Admins, can I link to a Wikipedia page? It's a relatively short one.
No, I'm sorry.
Admin
(November 6, 2018 - 9:11 pm)
Part 1: Phaneron
Your phaneron is your perception of reality, as created by your brain processing sensory input. Your phaneron is everything.
The point is, your phaneron can be wrong, or even faked. Classic examples include typical hallucinations and The Matrix.
So you can't be sure of (nearly) anything.
Their are only a few things you can be sure of. You can be sure that your own mind exists. Cogito, ergo sum. You can be sure of a few mathematical statements, like "a right angle is 90 degrees". And you can be sure of tautologies, self-affirming statements, such as "George Washington's white horse is white". You can't be sure that he had a white horse at all, but nevertheless the statement is surely true.
(November 7, 2018 - 4:15 pm)
What if technology is only as advanced as we want it to be?
(November 7, 2018 - 6:30 pm)
Excuse me as my mind explodes incredulously at that profound statement...
(November 7, 2018 - 10:27 pm)
Whatcha mean, exactly?
(November 8, 2018 - 9:26 pm)
What if the greatest boundary for advancing our technology to greater levels is our own fear of what would happen if we did?
(November 9, 2018 - 7:55 pm)
Oh! I think that's definitely a subconscious limitation many have...
(November 11, 2018 - 3:37 pm)