On Sun, Feb 24, 2008 at 10:24 AM, Stathis Papaioannou <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On 24/02/2008, Vladimir Nesov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > Does 2+2=4 make a sound when there is no one around? > > > > > > Yes, but it is of no consequence since no one can hear it. However, if > > > we believe that computation can result in consciousness, then by > > > definition there *is* someone to hear it: itself. > > > > > > > But it's still of no 'consequence', no? > > Of no consequence as far as anything at the level of the substrate of > its implementation is concerned, no. In order to "find" such a > computation hidden in noise we would have to do the computation all > over again, using conventional means. But unless we require that the > computation interact with us, that should make no difference to *it*. > If the computation simulates an inputless virtual reality with > conscious inhabitants, they should be no less conscious for the fact > that we can't talk to them. >
If you can build a simulation of it all over again, then you know enough to specify it, so the process in question is correlated with your own, you in effect interact with it. -- Vladimir Nesov [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------- singularity Archives: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/11983/=now RSS Feed: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/11983/ Modify Your Subscription: http://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=4007604&id_secret=96140713-a54b2b Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
