[ExI] The digital nature of brains (was: digital simulations)

[BillK]

On 1/30/10, Gordon Swobe wrote:
<big snip of seeking for 'understanding'>
>
> Again, you must have missed Searle's counter-reply. He internalizes the
> entire system and yet neither he nor anything inside him understands the symbols.
>
>


Many humans get through life 'understanding' a completely mistaken
series of beliefs about everything under the sun. Astrology,
creationism, superstitions, lucky socks, what drugs do, health fads,
pill-popping, lucky numbers, etc. etc.

They don't really have 'understanding' do they? They just muddle
through life linking unconnected items and making decisions almost at
random based on what they think they remember reading somewhere.

An AI could approximate their behaviour with little difficulty. Good
programming should enable more correct understanding in an AI.

In fact, that may be a way of detecting strong AI. It won't have all
the nonsensical human 'understandings'.

BillK