From: Krekoski Ross (rosskrekoski@gmail.com)
Date: Sun Mar 02 2008 - 14:54:21 MST
You can actually turn Jaron's position backwards on him--
lets say we have a program that perfectly simulates a bacteria, and it
accepts input from another program that gives it environmental cues and
information, and modifies the code of the bacteria-simulating program in a
way that is completely isomorphic with a bacteria in a petri dish. In
addition, with no causal connection between it and the bacteria, it
continues to act in a way that is perfectly isomorphic with the bacteria. If
we take the position that the machine is not conscious, then we must take
the position that the bacteria too is not conscious, since they any
interaction of one would be mirrored perfectly by the other.
Instead of a bacteria then, lets say we simulate an insect....a mouse? a
person.
where does he draw the line? are we therefore not conscious since we can be
perfectly modelled by a machine? His argument is an assertion, rather than
an actual argument.
Ross
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