[ExI] Digital Consciousness .

[Kelly Anderson]

On Mon, Apr 29, 2013 at 11:50 AM, Brent Allsop
<brent.allsop at canonizer.com>wrote:

> If a single neuron is what our brain uses to detect glutamate (or whatever
> it is that is the neural correlate of redness), then you can see the
> obvious fallacy in the transmigration thought experiment.  And it is also
> theoretically possible, that it is more than just a single neuron that is
> involved in the process of detecting the causal properties of glutamate, so
> that this system only says “That is my redness”, only if it is real
> glutamate (or whatever it is that really is responsible for a redness
> quality).  And not until you replace the entire binding system, which is
> the complex process of detecting real glutamate, with an abstracted version
> which can interpret a specific set of ones and zeros, as if it were the
> same as glutamate, will it finally start behaving the same.  And of course,
> there will be lots of fading quale, as lots of single neurons are placed in
> between these two states.  Additionally, unlike the real thing, you will
> never be able to ‘eff’ to know if the abstracted stuff, which is something
> very different than redness, only being interpreted as redness, really has
> a redness experience – unlike the real thing.
>
> That’s at least how I think about it.  Does this help you guys at all?
>

Nope. I think the problem may be that you are talking about a chemical
thing, whereas I think of the brain as primarily driven electrically. True,
there are chemicals involved, but those chemicals are primarily involved in
creating electricity, and passing electrical signals on to the next neuron.
So, if you don't have chemicals in an artificial neuron, but you still
process the electrical inputs in such a way as to produce the same
electrical outputs, then you have replaced it without losing anything.

So perhaps the confusion is that I think qualia are the result of patterns
of electrical activity, while you think they are somehow stored in a
chemical fashion. Or maybe I've passed you in the night again without
dancing. :-)

-Kelly
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