[ExI] Fwd: Is Artificial Life Conscious?

Rafal Smigrodzki rafal.smigrodzki at gmail.com
Fri Apr 29 05:49:04 UTC 2022


On Thu, Apr 28, 2022 at 11:02 PM Stuart LaForge via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

>
> The biggest problem that I have with the EM field mediating
> intelligence or consciousness is that my own studies into the
> mathematics of neural networks indicate that learning is mediated
> multiplication of high-dimensional tensors divided into "layers", and
> the more layers, the deeper the AI. EM fields are governed by quantum
> mechanics and therefore linear and subject to an unlimited additive
> property. That is to say that any number of wave functions may be
> added together to make a new wave function.
>
> On the other hand, the most important element of the neural networks
> are neurons that are characterized by non-linear activation functions.
> The necessity of the non-linearity of the activation function is that
> if neurons have a linear activation function, they cannot be organized
> into separate "layers" and instead all act as one giant layer and a
> single layer is quite stupid no matter how large. Therefore the sum of
> quantum fields or other waves do seem mathematically able to exhibit
> observable intelligence, whereas the sum of non-linear neurons do.
>

### Yes, absolutely. (I think you meant "the sum of
quantum fields or other waves do NOT seem mathematically able to exhibit
observable intelligence").
 ----------------

>
> In any case, I disagree with both you and Rafal. You think EM fields
> mediate consiousness, Rafal thinks that synaptic organization and
> transmission via ions and neurotransmitters mediate consciousness. I
> think that consciousness is a complex recursive mathematical function
> on tensor-space mediated by sparse synaptic connections between
> non-linearly activated neurons.


### I don't think you disagree with me :)

I think we can both agree on the following:

Synaptic organization and transmission via ions and neurotransmitters that
involve sparse synaptic connections between non-linearly activated neurons
is how the brain implements complex recursive mathematical function on
tensor-space, which enables intelligence, and which, one might hypothesize,
has something to do with consciousness.

You and I just pointed to different levels of this integrated process.

Rafal
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