[ExI] Digital Consciousness

[Anders Sandberg]

On 04/05/2013 03:34, Gordon wrote:
>
> The basic problem as I see it, and as Anders pointed out and with 
> which I agree, is that consciousness does not translate through the 
> levels.

Just to clarify: I am sceptical about whether consciousness translates 
between levels, but I am also a functionalist who thinks you can get 
consciousness in simulations. So it would be real but private consciousness.

It is the privacy of consciousness that makes the level argument less 
powerful about it than the corresponding argument about intelligence.

>
> If you believe the world itself is intrinsically digital, (and not 
> merely describable in digital terms), then I think you have good 
> reason to believe in strong AI and uploading.

I think this is a good point. The more I learn about computation theory 
and physics, the more it looks like the world is intrinsically 
computational. It might or might not be digital, and quantum information 
theory adds some weird quirks, but it certainly looks computational to 
me. But that is just an impression, not an argument.




-- 
Anders Sandberg,
Future of Humanity Institute
Oxford Martin School
Faculty of Philosophy
Oxford University

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