From: phil osborn (philosborn@hotmail.com)
Date: Sun Mar 12 2000 - 01:05:44 MST
>From: Spudboy100@aol.com
>Reply-To: extropians@extropy.com
>To: extropians@extropy.com
>Subject: Re: Emotion and Cognitive Science (ws) What is intelligence(Ws:
>neuro mods......
>Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2000 10:54:46 EST
>
>In a message dated 02/26/2000 1:08:40 AM Eastern Standard Time,
>philosborn@hotmail.com writes:
>
> > Non-digital," by the way, does not mean "non-rational." It's just that
> > consciousness is fundamentally different in structure from any
>computational
> >
> > device out there, including so-called neural nets, altho they are a
>step
> > closer.
>Is the opposite if digital-analog? Is life analog, or is mental computation
>analog? I wonder? Maybe intelligence goes through of phase of
>pre-cybernetic,analog-then a digital culture-then analog, once again as the
>technology advances?
The problem here is that most "uploaders" seem to consider only the pattern
of neural impulses, their storage, tranmission, the particulars of the
neurons and how they process input to produce output. In fact, this is only
one aspect of consciousness. Transmisssion and storage of information also
takes place on totally non-"digital" levels, as in the focusing and
activations of groups or systems of neurons via hormonal discharge or
takeup, which may be experienced as emotion or various states of general
attention or preparedness. Or the physiological feedback from your own body
as it serves to cue or clue. You could then totally mimic the logic and
miss attaining a real upload at all. But, in reality, you aren't mimicking
the logic, but only what that limited linear processing model takes into
account.
A friend who has spent most of his life trying to create real uploads
recently put it that the real Turing test is satisfied only when and if the
individual involved is convinced that he or she really is there in the
upload.... Unfortunately, the experience of brain injury suggest strongly
otherwise. Unless there is at least the memory available, how would the
upload judge? But to experience the memory - of a cognitive/emotional state
- would require that that capability exist. So if it were missing, our
Stepford person upload would never miss it, except perhaps through a process
of complex analysis. Rucker, in his "Software", I believe, very nicely
paints the picture of someone who has just involuntarily lost a hemisphere
of his brain. Halve of his visual field is gone as a result. But it isn't
black or white or gray - or anything! It just isn't there and the character
has to keep reminding himself that the rest of the universe does in fact
exist.
I have exactly that experience, visually at least, about every five years,
when I have a "visual migraine." I lose my left vision entirely and have to
keep reminding myself that there are things to my left. It's not at all the
same as blinding the left eye, as then I could still easilly call up
memories from low levels. But when that part of your visual system stops
working, you can't even call up the memories.
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