[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> Hi all.
> T.Sands here -- yes, still on the list and still lurking. Always interesting
> to see what pops up, the ebb and flow of this forum.
>
> That being said, I have a question re: embryonic genetic engineering/cloning
> in potential combination with artificial intelligence for anyone who is
> interested or informed.
> I've been thinking about the nature of A.I. (within, of course, my limited
> understanding of the subject) as "digital soul" meaning the sentient life
> form exists within the realm of light and energy which is
> created/stored/developed as data in a computer.
Data and consiousness are not necessarily the same thing. This is
kind of like the difference between data and information.
> The "DNA" of the A.I. is, in
> fact, a string of ones and zeroes (or some other form of data code). It
> could be said then that if an A.I. lifeform is "copied" (i.e. its "software"
> is duplicated and uploaded into a new hard drive), it has in fact just been
> cloned, minus the cellular biology/helix of human beings.
You would be assuming that you could turn an A.I.'s computer off and
it would survive unharmed when you turn the machine back on.
> Could it be possible, then, to somehow merge the "Digital DNA" of an A.I.
> with the double helix of a human genome, thereby creating a human being with
> the "soul" of an A.I.?
Turning humans "off" is something they never quite recover from.
Then again, you might be able to "write" a personality into the
embryonic DNA, but it would still have to grow up and develop like
any "normal" human. There is probably a lot more weight to the
"nurture" side of the equation than people often think. I.E. DNA
would give physical and emotional tendencies, and maybe upper
limits to ability, but the final person is heavily determined
by his/her life events.
> The idea is cool, but I have no idea if it is remotely plausible or laughable
> on a scientific level -- even in the realm of science fiction.
It all starts with the question, "what is a soul and/or consciousness"
One (incompatible with your idea) way to consider it is that the a
consiousness
is a network effect, not a string of information.
An analogy would be the internet. It is more than the sum of all its
hardware
and software and content, it has a kind of life of its own. If you make
a copy
of the Internet (all the machines, content, etc.,) would it be the same?
--Matt
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