[ExI] More thoughts on sentient computers

[Giovanni Santostasi]

A simulation is *a model that mimics the operation of an existing or
proposed system, providing evidence for decision-making by being able to
test different scenarios or process changes*.

Dave: What the brain does is absolutely a simulation according to the
definition above. A representation of the world is a simulation of the
world. Theory of mind is a simulation of other minds.
What else would you mean for a simulation?
I gave you the example of dreams, that are absolutely a simulation of our
perceived reality. Explain our waking state is so dissimilar from the dream
state? I did explain that we receive sensory info from the external world
that anchors our interpretation and model making to real inputs instead of
internally created ones. But it is basically similar to what happened when
we interact with a simulated world via mouse inputs. It is still a
simulation even if it received external inputs.
Giovanni

On Wed, Feb 22, 2023 at 5:54 PM Dave S via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

> On Wednesday, February 22nd, 2023 at 7:09 PM, Giovanni Santostasi via
> extropy-chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>
> > Giovanni: Our brain is a simulation, not sure why it is not understood
> by most people.
> > Dave: I don't think it's true. Our brains are biological organs. I don't
> understand what you think they're simulations of.
> > It is a simulation of the "real world".
>
> No, brains aren't a simulation of the world. What you're trying to say is
> that brains contain a representation of the world.
>
> > When we process information about sensory inputs we have in our brain
> routines that interpret what the signals mean, this is done in a
> hierarchical way. From simple components of the sensory information all the
> way to naming the object in our head, associating it with similar
> experiences we had in the past and so on. For example, let's say you see a
> red box. You are really not "seeing" the box but simulating it in your head
> (maybe simulating is not the best word but close enough).
>
> It's not close enough, though, because it resulted in this
> misunderstanding.
>
> -Dave
>
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