Apropos to the previous post, albeit from a different angle. Hovertext: "This comic was posted in order to increase my social status, acquire wealth, and thus improve the reproductive fitness of my offspring." Click through for full sized version and red button caption. via SMBC I've noted many times before that emotions and other instinctual … Continue reading SMBC: Do humans have feelings?
Tag: AI
Let artificial intelligence evolve? Probably fruitless, possibly dangerous.
Michael Chorost has an article at Slate about artificial intelligence and any dangers it might present. I find myself in complete agreement with the early portions of his piece, as he explains why an AI (artificial intelligence) would be unlikely to be dangerous in the way many fear. To value something, an entity has to be able … Continue reading Let artificial intelligence evolve? Probably fruitless, possibly dangerous.
Panpsychism and definitions of “consciousness”
Disagreeable Me asked me to look at this interesting TED talk by Professor Mark Bishop. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUNHyPFvUWc The entire talk is well worth the time (20 minutes) for anyone interested in consciousness and the computational theory of mind, but here's my very quick summation: The human mind, and hence consciousness, is a computational system. Since animal … Continue reading Panpsychism and definitions of “consciousness”
Discovering the architecture of the mind
I've written numerous times here that I tend to think that AGI (artificial general intelligence) and mind uploading are both ultimately possible. (Possibly centuries in the future, but possible.) I've also noted that we'll have to have a working understanding of the mind, how it works, how it is structured, before we can do either, … Continue reading Discovering the architecture of the mind
The feasibility of mind uploading
Neuroscientist Kenneth Miller has an interesting post at the New York Times discussing the feasibility of mind uploading: I am a theoretical neuroscientist. I study models of brain circuits, precisely the sort of models that would be needed to try to reconstruct or emulate a functioning brain from a detailed knowledge of its structure. I … Continue reading The feasibility of mind uploading
A machine in the likeness of a human mind
In the fictional far future of the classic science fiction novel, 'Dune', computers are taboo across all human cultures, the result of an ancient jihad which resulted in the religious commandment: "Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind." The result of this commandment, is that computers, robots, or artificial intelligence … Continue reading A machine in the likeness of a human mind
Michael Graziano on building a brain
I've written a few times on the Attention Theory schema of consciousness. It's a theory I like because it's scientific, eschewing any mystical steps, such as assuming that consciousness just magically arises at a certain level of complexity. It's almost certainly not perfect, but I think it's a major step in the right direction. Michael Graziano, … Continue reading Michael Graziano on building a brain
Emotional versus intellectual attributions of consciousness
Click through for full sized version and the red button caption. via Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. This SMBC reminds me of a concept that I've been debating on ways to express, but a brief comment here seems like the opportunity to do so. We've had a lot of discussions about exactly when we might start to … Continue reading Emotional versus intellectual attributions of consciousness
Should we fear AI? Neil deGrasse Tyson’s answer is the right one.
HuffPost has an article up with quotes from various people on the dangers, or non-dangers of artificial intelligence. They include the usual suspects: Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, etc. Most of them express concern about the dangers. But I think Neil deGrasse Tyson's is the only answer from this group worth listening to. There are … Continue reading Should we fear AI? Neil deGrasse Tyson’s answer is the right one.
What do you think about machines that think?
The Edge question for this year was, "What do you think about machines that think?" There are a lot of good responses, and some predictably inane ones. Daniel Dennett gives a good write up on why the Singularity is overblown, and points out something that I've said myself, that the real danger isn't artificial intelligence, but … Continue reading What do you think about machines that think?
SelfAwarePatterns 