[ExI] The symbol grounding problem in strong AI

Ben Zaiboc bbenzai at yahoo.com
Sun Dec 13 20:55:04 UTC 2009


Gordon Swobe <gts_2000 at yahoo.com>

> The challenge ... is ...
> to show that formal programs differ in some important way
> from shopping lists, some important way that allows programs
> to overcome the symbol grounding problem.

I've just been following this thread peripherally, but this caught my attention.  Are you *seriously* saying that you think shopping lists don't differ from programs?  If so, your shopping lists must be wonderful things indeed.  I've never had the need to include variables, control structures, interfaces, etc., in my shopping lists.

Secondly, if you don't think a program can solve the mysteriously difficult 'symbol grounding problem', how can a brain do it?  Are you saying that a system that processes and transmits signals as ion potential differences can do things that a system that processes and transmits signals as voltages can't?  What about electron spins? photon wavelengths? polarisation angles? quantum states? magnetic polarities? etc., etc. 

Is there something special that ion potential waves have over these other ways of representing and processing information?

If so, what?

Ben Zaiboc


      



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