Re: Why human colonization may be irrelevant

On Tue, 03 Jan 2006 21:16:35 -0500, ZnU <znu@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Is consciousness really something
>fundamentally different from what a robot programmed to be aware of its
>own state and its own environment does?

Consciousness does not require awareness of self state, only
identification of the environment. Nevertheless, computers are still
not very good at this, and outside a controlled laboratory environment
are easily outperformed by small animals. Computers can _sense_ their
environment readily enough, given the appropriate hardware, but that
requires very much less brains than _identifying_ it.

>Even intelligence, which initially seems like it might be easier to
>identify, is a slippery thing. We've got computers that play chess
>better than any human alive. Are they intelligent? How about systems
>which can identify objects visually? Are those intelligent?

Intelligence is the ability to make a successful initial response to
novel and meaningfully complex situations. Identifying objects is
consciousness, not intelligence. The chess computers are intelligent
in the realm of chess, because they are able to make strong moves in
situations they have not previously encountered. However, they are
completely unintelligent in everything else. If the rules of chess
were changed slightly, the computers would be completely helpless
until they were reprogrammed, whereas strong human chess players would
still be strong at the new game.

>Anyway, what I'm getting at here, is that machine intelligence and/or
>machine consciousness probably won't be the result of a single
>breakthrough. They could very well be the result of an evolutionary
>process, with lots of gradual improvements.

They are also two entirely different things, but I suspect something
like the Cyc project might have far-reaching implications for both.

-- Roy L
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Curts AI epiphany
    ... and the environment that surrounds it. ... Computers don't have ... so they must be assumed to have partial consciousness. ... Let's say that AI robots will, one day, in the far future, do. ...
    (comp.ai.philosophy)
  • Re: Curts AI epiphany
    ... and the environment that surrounds it. ... Computers don't have ... so they must be assumed to have partial consciousness. ... Most AI robots model themselves as part of the environment they model. ...
    (comp.ai.philosophy)
  • Re: 50 years later, Marvin Minsky still doesnt get it
    ... Ethics and rights have nothing to do with consciousness. ... humans react to their environment. ... you have a robot with a computer of similar power to a human brain then ... blenders and rocks and computers, ...
    (comp.ai.philosophy)
  • Re: Curts AI epiphany
    ... and the environment that surrounds it. ... so they must be assumed to have partial consciousness. ... dogs fail on the mirror test but succeed ... Current computers, on the other ...
    (comp.ai.philosophy)
  • Re: Why human colonization may be irrelevant
    ... > Consciousness does not require awareness of self state, ... Computers can _sense_ their environment readily enough, ... We've got computers that play chess ... > like the Cyc project might have far-reaching implications for both. ...
    (sci.space.policy)