[ExI] AI Motivation revisited

Richard Loosemore rloosemore at susaro.com
Wed Jun 29 18:46:32 UTC 2011


Stefano Vaj wrote:
> On 27 June 2011 23:28, Richard Loosemore <rpwl at lightlink.com> wrote:
>   
>> Meaningless statement.  A trivial use of the PCE.
>>
>> An ordinary PC, if programmed correctly, might be capable of something
>> approaching full human intelligence in real time.  Probably not, but it is a
>> possibility.
>>
>> Since everything depends on the type of computation required (which you do
>> not know), it is pointless to make statements such as "a contemporary PC is
>> certainly capable of running an anthropomorphic AGI".
>>     
>
> Let us make it easier, so that we can see whether and where a
> disagreement exists:
>
> - Beyond the level of universal computation, there is no other
> "threshold" which may be required for any device to perform any given
> computation, the difference obviously being in the relative
> performance of different devices engaged in different tasks;
>
> - An anthropomorphic AGI is a computation process of one kind or another;
>
> - A contemporary PC is a universal computation device.
>
> Hence, a contemporary PC, exactly as a Turing machine or a cellular
> automaton of the right kind, is in principle capable of running an
> AGI.
>
> Fact.
>
> Educated guess, but by all means not a fact:
>
> Contemporary PCs seems unlikely to perform very well in any such task,
> including in comparison with human brains, so that you for a
> persuasive AGI might have to wait for aeons to get a reply in a
> Turing-test interaction.
>
>   
Stefano, your argument is fine .... except that you have neglected to 
notice that I was talking about whether a PC could simulate a mind "in 
real time".  In other words, from the very beginning I have been talking 
about anything EXCEPT the universal computation issue!

I never disputed whether a tinkertoy or a bunch of marbles running in a 
maze (or a Searlean idiot locked up in a room with pieces of paper being 
passed under the door) could simulate a mind .... hey, no problem:  all 
of these things could simulate a mind if programmed correctly.

All I cared about was whether a PC could do it in real time.  In other 
words, fast enough to keep up with a human.

Does that clear up the confusion?



Richard Loosemore

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.extropy.org/pipermail/extropy-chat/attachments/20110629/08c0c327/attachment.html>


More information about the extropy-chat mailing list