> On 27 Oct 2015, at 12:15 PM, Bruce Kellett <[email protected]> wrote: > >> On 27/10/2015 12:05 pm, Jason Resch wrote: >> On Mon, Oct 26, 2015 at 7:37 PM, Bruce Kellett <[email protected]> >> wrote: >>>> On 27/10/2015 10:52 am, Jason Resch wrote: >>>> On Monday, October 26, 2015, Bruce Kellett <[email protected]> >>>> wrote: >>>> > On 27/10/2015 8:16 am, Stathis Papaioannou wrote: >>>> > >>>> > On Tuesday, 27 October 2015, John Clark <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> >> >>>> >> >>>> >>> >>>> >>> > >>>> >>> so where does semantic content come from? >>>> >> >>>> >> From examples in the physical world. You can give as many botanical >>>> >> definitions of the word "tree" as you want but it will just be a word >>>> >> defined by other words that are themselves defined by yet more words >>>> >> that are.... If you tried to dig for meaning all you'd find is a >>>> >> endless loop, it would just be a game where words are manipulated >>>> >> according to the rules of botany until somebody forgot about >>>> >> definitions and pointed to the ASCII string "t-r-e-e" and then pointed >>>> >> to a large photosynthesizing organism made largely of cellulose that >>>> >> exists in the physical world. Then even a martian would notice a >>>> >> correspondence between this game of manipulating symbols called >>>> >> "botany" that humans had invented and the way these large >>>> >> photosynthesizing organism made largely of cellulose live. >>>> > >>>> > What about a virtual world with trees and observers, and no I/O devices >>>> > connecting it to outside trees? >>>> > >>>> > I think Brent answered this in his response to Russell. The trees of the >>>> > ordinary physical world do not connect with anything outside this world >>>> > either in order to have semantic content. A virtual world would be no >>>> > different in this respect. The point is that the content comes from >>>> > something other formal symbol manipulation -- things such as pointing >>>> > and sensory responses. There has to be something other than the >>>> > consciousness with which the consciousness can interact. >>>> >>>> I take it you've never played video games. >>> Not with any regularity. But I take it that when you play such games, you >>> interact with the simulated environment via the provided interface -- the >>> game only interacts with itself in so far as the original programmers >>> designed it to. The semantic content is provided from outside in either >>> case. >> >> So what do you think would happen if an AI, or uploaded mind were uploaded >> into a virtual reality that was fully disconnected from the physical world? >> Would that mind no longer be conscious? > Difficult to tell because, by construction, you can't ask it. But if both the > AI and the VR are programmed by some external intelligence, semantic content > might be provided in that way.
But once programmed, there may be no further evidence of semantic content. The computer could be fired into space, and the programmers and their entire civilisation might die. If aliens find it and somehow work out the syntax, there is no way for them to work out the meaning behind it, since there is no intrinsic meaning in circuits turning on and off. So what is the explanation here: the meaning is still there because the long-dead programmers had thought about it in a particular way? -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
