[ExI] Digital Consciousness

[Kelly Anderson]

On Sun, May 5, 2013 at 8:27 PM, Gordon <gts_2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> As I wrote to Ben, I believe the brain is computable.
>

I think that's all anyone else is wanting from you, but it SEEMS like you
go back and forth on this. If it is computable then a "computer" can
compute it. If it has simulated consciousness, that is just consciousness
on a different level.


> There is some level of description under which we could write a program
> that simulated the operations of the brain. But I don't believe the
> resulting digital computation would have consciousness. It is merely a
> computer program -- an algorithm designed to mimic the observable
> operations of a brain  -- not an actual brain.
>
> I am myself a programmer, by the way (C++). I can make computers do
> interesting things that appear conscious, but I don't suppose I could ever
> write a program that would make a computer actually conscious. That would
> require magic, like the magic that made Pinocchio come alive. What would
> the code look like? How do I write a "become conscious" function?
>

Ok, perhaps we're getting to something useful here. I don't think you can
write a C++ program that is conscious. However, I do think you could write
a C++ program that stored and managed a huge amount of data that would
simulate consciousness. The difference between real and simulated is just a
function of which simulation we live in... ;-)

-Kelly
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