Systems of information and human consciousness Maybe the mind and the self are a kind of system of information or a pattern, analogous to the software and structured data in a computer. It’s not physical, it’s an arrangement of a set physical things that represents an information system. This has the advantage over the metaphysicalContinue reading “Characters”
Tag Archives: philosophy
The I in “AI”
Intelligent behavior It’s weird that in a set of articles about AI, I’m only finally getting around to talking about what the field of A.I. research has to say. This article relies the leading AI textbook, part Bible and part encyclopedia: Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig’s Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, Intelligence Professional and academicContinue reading “The I in “AI””
The Stepford Scenario
Human sympathy and human essence Consider this thought experiment, which is a variation on the 1972 movie “Stepford Wives”. (This version works better for parents.) Of course I’ve done something wrong. If this was a movie, we would expect you to fight to death to get your children back. That’s the only way this movieContinue reading “The Stepford Scenario”
The Paradox of Mary and Mark
On subjective consciousness This is a variation on Frank Jackson’s thought experiment “Mary’s Room” (1982). This much of the argument should convince you that you believe subjective consciousness is real. There is nothing confusing or mysterious about the concept. You know exactly what I mean when I say “there is a difference between knowing whichContinue reading “The Paradox of Mary and Mark”
Ghosts and Other Invisible Stuff
Metaphysical consciousness and the human essence. The characters in Ghost in the Shell struggle to understand their “ghost” — their actual self, the real person beneath all the cybernetic enhancements in their bodies, brains and bloodstream. Major Motoko Kusanagi: Maybe all full-replacement cyborgs like me start wondering this. That perhaps the real me died aContinue reading “Ghosts and Other Invisible Stuff”
The Tell
Human behavior and Human essence Consider these pivotal moments from sci-fi films about AI and human simulations: Joanna: Bobbi, stop it. Look at me. Say I’m right. You are different. Your figure’s different, your face, what you talk about, all of this is different. Joanna is able to detect something about the machine that tellsContinue reading “The Tell”
The Sixth Day: on the moment when ai comes alive
Here’s a couple of examples of a common trope in science fiction. Terminator II: Judgement Day (1991): The Terminator: “… [Skynet] goes online on August 4th 1997. Human decisions are removed from Strategic Defense. Skynet begins learning at geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. eastern time August 29th. In a panic they triedContinue reading “The Sixth Day: on the moment when ai comes alive”
Considering Samantha
On human essence Let’s talk about the movie Her — a work of genius that goes right to the heart of a number of issues in the philosophy of artificial intelligence. The prediction at the center of the film — that a human simulation would become the world’s most popular program and people would becomeContinue reading “Considering Samantha”
Why Didn’t We Go Back to The Moon?
Notes on Progress TIME MACHINES Human bodies are time machines. My grandfather, born in 1896, grew up in the “wild west” of California: horses, buggies, the occasional train. Before he died, he flew 400 mph in a jet airliner as big as a building and watched men walk on the moon. But what happened duringContinue reading “Why Didn’t We Go Back to The Moon?”
The Human Essence Assumption
. This is an assumptions that are almost always made in science fiction, and often made in non-fiction writing about AI. I’ve written eight or so articles about it. To be honest, this article is mostly a way to try to keep my thinking straight. But it might also be interesting to you all andContinue reading “The Human Essence Assumption”
CHARLES GILLINGHAM 