----- Original Message ----
From: Bob Mottram <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 8:14:09 AM
Subject: Re: [agi] Study hints that fruit flies have free will
I don't think anyone with knowledge of insect nervous systems would
argue that they're stateless machines. Even simple invertebrates such
as slugs can exhibit classical condition effects which means that at
least some minimal state is retained.
To me the idea of free will suggests that a number of possible
behaviors can be triggered at any moment in time and that the system
in some way "chooses" between those possibilities. The system can
only move easily from one state to another if its dynamics are perched
on an edge between pure randomness and determinism.
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I think that this is a very succinct explanation of free will, expressed in
computational terms, that I have ever read.
However, I don't feel that there is such thing as 'pure randomness'. Or if
there is, it would be beyond our understanding. The concept of pure randomness
is an extrapolation of our theories about randomness which places it within
some universe of a range, even if that range is not completely understood.
Most theories of randomness seemed to be based on our concepts of recognized
patterns and our ability to perceive patterns of some kind.
Similarly, I believe that the concept of determinism should also be seen as a
relative concept. While the output or result of the next operation of a
computer program may be completely deterministic, the string of future outputs
of a program capable of reacting to input is not completely deterministic.
This apparent contradiction, in my view, is the basis of much of the argument
about free will and determinism that takes place in these AI groups. I doubt
that if there is anything such as pure determinism just as I doubt that there
is anything such as pure randomness. These are both extrapolations of very
useful concepts that were derived from human experience. But I do not believe
that they are fundamentals of reality as such. Many paradox can be resolved by
recognizing that determinism and randomness do not exist as separate
fundamentals of the universe.
Jim Bromer
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