[ExI] The symbol grounding problem in strong AI.

[John Clark]

On Jan 2, 2010, Gordon Swobe wrote:

> If you think I have an issue with Darwin then either you don't understand me or you don't understand Darwin.

I'm sure emotionally you side with Darwin, but you haven't pondered his ideas in any depth because if you had you'd know that the idea that consciousness and intelligence can be separated and are caused by processes that have nothing to do with each other is 100% contradictory to Darwin's insight. Foolish creationists who don't understand Darwin like to say that life couldn't have come about by chance alone and they're right, it couldn't come about by chance. 

Darwin in what was probably the single best idea any member of our species ever had came up with a way to explain not only how life came to be but also how intelligence did. However if consciousness and intelligence were not just 2 sides of the same thing but as you believe entirely separate phenomenon then science has no explanation of how consciousness came to be on this small blue planet. And yet somehow consciousness did come to be, I am conscious and its not entirely outside the laws of possibility that you are too. 

You ask us to believe that besides the process that produced life and intelligence working in parallel with that and entirely at random a different... something... created consciousness. For the first time in my life I know what a creationist who doesn't understand Darwin feels like. THE ENTIRE THING IS JUST BRAIN DEAD DUMB.  

> I have ignored your noises about this subject because usually I have a very little time on my hands
> and more interesting things to write about.

Wow! I sure wish I knew where you wrote those more interesting things, things more interesting than life or intelligence. No doubt you won't respond to any of my points because you're too busy explaining why a computer made of beer cans and toilet paper couldn't be conscious no matter how brilliantly it behaved because it just couldn't; and besides an intelligent beer can would be strange and strange things can't happen. Time management in action. 

 John K Clark

 


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