On Dec 8, 2007 10:34 PM, John G. Rose <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > It'd be interesting, I kind of wonder about this sometimes, if an AGI, > especially one that is heavily complex systems based would independently > come up with the existence some form of a deity. Different human cultures > come up with deity(s), for many reasons; I'm just wondering if it is like > some sort of mathematical entity that is natural to incompleteness and > complexity (simulation?) or is it just exclusively a biological thing > based > on related limitations. >
Here's the way I like to think of it; we have different methods of thinking about systems in our environments, different sort of models. One type of model that we humans have (with the possible exception of autistics) is the ability to try to model another system as a person like ourselves; its easier to predict what it will do if we attribute it motives and goals. I think a lot of our ideas about God/gods/goddesses come from a tendency to try to predict the behavior of nature using agent models; so farmers attribute human emotions, like spite or anger, to nature when the weather doesn't help the crops. So, assuming that is a big factor in how/why we developed religions, then it is possible that an AI could have a similar problem, if it tried to describe too many events using its 'agency' models. But I think an AI near or better than human level could probably see that there are simpler (or more accurate) explanations, and so reject predictions made based on those models. Then again, a completely rational AI may believe in Pascal's wager... Josh ----- This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/?member_id=8660244&id_secret=74012487-b3a412
