[ExI] How not to make a thought experiment

[John Clark]

Me:
>> I'm also a little curious why Swobe takes at face value a report from a
>> human being that he has subjective experience but if a robot, regardless of
>> how intelligent, reports the same thing Swobe is certain he is lying.
> 
Spencer Campbell:

> Because human beings have brains!

What do brains have to do with the price of eggs? It's easy to demonstrate that brains have something to do with intelligence but if Swobe is correct and that's unrelated to consciousness then for all we know the big toe is the key organ of consciousness.

> No. It's because Gordon is a human, and Gordon can detect his own
> consciousness, and so Gordon assumes that other humans can do the
> same.

But he is a male, perhaps females are not conscious and just act like they are, he is a member of a particular race, perhaps members of other races have no feelings and just act like they do. If you don't make it an axiom that intelligent behavior and consciousness are two sides of the same thing then anything is possible. And even Swobe doesn't think other humans are conscious when they are sleeping or dead. Why? Because they don't act like they are.

> It's a reasonable assumption, even if it does vaccinate him
> against a whole class of extremely relevant thought.

You can say that again!
> 
> If you must keep picking on him [...]

I'm not picking on him, he's a grown man, I presume, and if he wishes to counter my criticisms he is free to do so; but if he persists in sending post after post after post full of rubbish he's got to expect to get some heat.

 John K Clark


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