[Wittrs] Re: How mind works

  • From: brendan downs <downs_brendan@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <wittrs@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:35:48 +1200

Bladerunner with Harrison Ford has certain parallels to the question "How does 
Data in Star Trek really know he is an artificial intelligence".

 

brendan
 
> Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:56:31 +0000
> From: SWMirsky@xxxxxxx
> To: wittrs@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [Wittrs] Re: How mind works
> 
> --- In Wittrs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Sean Wilson <whoooo26505@...> wrote:
> >
> > 
> >How does Data in Star Trek really know he is an artificial intelligence? Is 
> >it only because of his programming? For it seems that he cannot ever truly 
> >know that; he can only recite whatever the programming says. I mean, imagine 
> >two Datas. One is programmed to believe it is an artificial intelligence and 
> >one is programmed to believe he is "real." How would the set-real data ever 
> >come to know that it was not "real?" That seems to require more than 
> >mirrored co-processing. I mean, you'd have to have an existential moment. Or 
> >you'd have to have a logical flaw (my programming is wrong?). 
> > 
> > Of course, in these stupid shows, the scifi isn't done well. So you really 
> > can't even consider the matter.
> > 
> > 
> 
> 
> How do we ever really know we are what we are? Would a synthetic 
> consciousness contraption need to have more reason to feel certain about the 
> answers to such questions than we do? Would it matter if he/she/it did?
> 
> Actually I think Star Trek: The Next Generation did rather a good job of it 
> with the Data character. On the other hand I never thought they had it right 
> on transporters, the idea of universal translators converting everyone's 
> speech to English, alien body forms or the implications of space travel. But 
> then you can't have everything and the philosophical depth of some of their 
> stories (especially in the later episodes) was quite good.
> 
> SWM 
> 
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