On 5/24/2023 9:29 PM, Stathis Papaioannou wrote:
On Thu, 25 May 2023 at 13:59, Jason Resch <jasonre...@gmail.com> wrote:
On Wed, May 24, 2023, 9:56 PM Stathis Papaioannou
<stath...@gmail.com> wrote:
On Thu, 25 May 2023 at 11:48, Jason Resch
<jasonre...@gmail.com> wrote:
>An RNG would be a bad design choice because it would be
extremely unreliable. However, as a thought experiment, it
could work. If the visual cortex were removed and replaced
with an RNG which for five minutes replicated the
interactions with the remaining brain, the subject would
behave as if they had normal vision and report that they
had normal vision, then after five minutes behave as if
they were blind and report that they were blind. It is
perhaps contrary to intuition that the subject would
really have visual experiences in that five minute period,
but I don't think there is any other plausible explanation.
I think they would be a visual zombie in that five minute
period, though as described they would not be able to
report any difference.
I think if one's entire brain were replaced by an RNG,
they would be a total zombie who would fool us into
thinking they were conscious and we would not notice a
difference. So by extension a brain partially replaced by
an RNG would be a partial zombie that fooled the other
parts of the brain into thinking nothing was amiss.
I think the concept of a partial zombie makes consciousness
nonsensical.
It borders on the nonsensical, but between the two bad
alternatives I find the idea of a RNG instantiating human
consciousness somewhat less sensical than the idea of partial zombies.
If consciousness persists no matter what the brain is replaced with as
long as the output remains the same this is consistent with the idea
that consciousness does not reside in a particular substance (even a
magical substance) or in a particular process. This is a strange idea,
but it is akin to the existence of platonic objects. The number three
can be implemented by arranging three objects in a row but it does not
depend those three objects unless it is being used for a particular
purpose, such as three beads on an abacus.
How would I know that I am not a visual zombie now, or a
visual zombie every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday?
Here, we have to be careful what we mean by "I". Our own brains
have various spheres of consciousness as demonstrated by the Wada
Test: we can shut down one hemisphere of the brain and lose
partial awareness and functionality such as the ability to form
words and yet one remains conscious. I think being a partial
zombie would be like that, having one's sphere of awareness shrink.
But the subject's sphere of awareness would not shrink in the thought
experiment, since by assumption their behaviour stays the same, while
if their sphere of awareness shrank they notice that something was
different and say so.
Why do you think they would notice? Color blind people don't notice
they are color blind...until somebody tells them about it and even then
they don't "notice" it.
Brent
What is the advantage of having "real" visual experiences if
they make no objective difference and no subjective difference
either?
The advantage of real computations (which imply having real
awareness/experiences) is that real computations are more reliable
than RNGs for producing intelligent behavioral responses.
Yes, so an RNG would be a bad design choice. But the point remains
that if the output of the system remains the same, the consciousness
remains the same, regardless of how the system functions. The
reasonable-sounding belief that somehow the consciousness resides in
the brain, in particular biochemical reactions or even in electronic
circuits simulating the brain is wrong.
--
Stathis Papaioannou
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