Posted by deirdrehbrt on November 23, 2003, at 14:18:12
In reply to Re: Redirected: What is consciousness?, posted by Jonny Trigonometry on November 22, 2003, at 14:11:13
Jonny,
You are asking some very good questions, but I think your analogy of the dominos fails far too early to provide an answer to the question. Dominos may fall, but they do not right themselves again, nor do they reconfigure themselves. Neurons create new pathways as a result of new learning. Neurons reset themselves to be able to transmit again. The brain is a dynamic machine while dominos are an exercise in entropy. They start in a high potential state when set up, an end in a low potential state with motion exhausted after they have been triggered.
I think that AI is possible because it already exists. It is used a great deal in pattern matching, in providing solutions for many scientific problems, and in many other areas of computer science. It doesn't exist in the form of androids and such, but it in a very real, though limited way, enables many areas of research, law enforcement, etc.
The limiting factor at present is the number of processor cycles, memory, and algorythms that are available. I don't expect AI to replace man, because I believe that there is an element of life that cannot be simulated. I don't know what that element is though.
Thanks for the question.
Dee.
poster:deirdrehbrt
thread:282271
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20031113/msgs/282884.html