Kelly Harmon wrote: > ... > So I think the possibility (conceivability?) of conscious computer > simulations is what throws a kink into this line of thought. >
No, that's why I wrote "...relative to an environment". In Moravec's thought experiment the consciousness is relative to simulation. From outside it might many entirely different interpretations, like the stone that calculates everything. Brent > I'll quote Hans Moravec here: > > "A simulated world hosting a simulated person can be a closed > self-contained entity. It might exist as a program on a computer > processing data quietly in some dark corner, giving no external hint > of the joys and pains, successes and frustrations of the person > inside. Inside the simulation events unfold according to the strict > logic of the program, which defines the ``laws of physics'' of the > simulation. The inhabitant might, by patient experimentation and > inference, deduce some representation of the simulation laws, but not > the nature or even existence of the simulating computer. The > simulation's internal relationships would be the same if the program > were running correctly on any of an endless variety of possible > computers, slowly, quickly, intermittently, or even backwards and > forwards in time, with the data stored as charges on chips, marks on a > tape, or pulses in a delay line, with the simulation's numbers > represented in binary, decimal, or Roman numerals, compactly or spread > widely across the machine. There is no limit, in principle, on how > indirect the relationship between simulation and simulated can be." > > http://www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/~hpm/project.archive/general.articles/1998/SimConEx.98.html > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To post to this group, send email to everything-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to everything-list+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
