[ExI] AI motivation, was malevolent machines

[William Flynn Wallace]

It still seems like there is a bit of dualism here, just a whiff, as if
consciousness were epiphenomenal.  I exchanged a few emails with Kahneman
and he of all people is a dualist who will not admit that anything of what
he says happens in the brain.

I am completely comfortable with the idea that consciousness is totally
physical (in the claustrum, maybe?) - in fact, everything is.  Physical
monism.  I don't think dualists will ever solve their conundrum.  bill w


On Mon, Apr 14, 2014 at 10:35 AM, John Clark <johnkclark at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Sun, Apr 13, 2014 at 12:48 PM, Rafal Smigrodzki <
> rafal.smigrodzki at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Self-awareness of the type you mention is a neurological function.
>
>
> Yes.
>
>  > As such, for it to evolve, there must be genes directing biological
>> events, and usage of metabolic resources for it to function.
>>
>
> Yes.
>
>  > But, if self-awareness does not increase fitness, genes for it will not
>> be selected, and if it does sometimes appear it will be selected against to
>> conserve energy.
>>
>
> Self-awareness could still appear if it is a biological spandrel. In fact
> if Darwin was right then logically there is no other conclusion to make
> except that consciousness is a byproduct of intelligence.  Evolution can no
> more directly detect consciousness in others than we can so it couldn't
> directly select for it, and yet I know for a fact that Evolution did manage
> to produce consciousness at least once (in me) and probably many billions
> of times (I have a hunch other people are conscious too, at least when
> they're not sleeping or under anesthesia or dead or otherwise acting
> unintelligently).  This paradox can be resolved if we remember that just
> like us Evolution CAN detect intelligence in others so it can select for
> that and postulate that consciousness just comes along for the ride.
>
> I think consciousness must be fundamental, that is to say it sits at the
> end of a long string of "what caused that?" questions. If so then after
> saying that consciousness is the way data feels like when it is being
> processed there just isn't anything more to say on the subject of how
> matter can produce consciousness.
>
>   John K Clark
>
>
>
>
>
>>
>
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