[NTLK] OT: A Future That is a Singularity - Evolution

[Forrest Buffenmyer]

 >> I have to admit, I was following this discussion and was intrigued....
>> <http://splorp.com/newton/glossary/>      **[hmm I don't know how that link got there....]**
>>
>
>It's a wonderful idea but those proposing it are *not* in the field.
> They're nowhere near the field.  Their base assumption is that if you make
>a computer big enough, with as many neuron-equivalent transistors as the
>human brain, it will suddenly be able to be smart enough to program itself.
> This is the underlying premise behind more than a few Sci-Fi stories...<snip>


The question is: when does an entity achieve awareness ("life")? I remember reading a science fiction story years ago...in it, the earth had been made unfit for human life and after many many years the ecosystem had almost returned to normal...the main character was a humanoid robot, who determined that he wanted a companion--a human being. So, he caught, killed and dissected little animals to see how beings made of flesh and blood sustained life...then, using photos in his memory circuits and heavy doses of his interpretation of the book of Genesis he "created" a man. He found different colors of clay and meticulously shaped the internal organs, blood vessels, muscles, bones, and so on. He covered his creation with more clay for "skin" and when he was finished, thought he could duplicate the "spark of life" by jolting his clay man from his own power supply...it didn't work, he just ended up with smoking and burned clay....

The premise behind the 'Terminator" films is that machines will evolve into a higher level of intelligence...and, by doing so, achieve awareness. There's no way to know or even (IMHO) correctly speculate if this is even possible. In "Bicentennial Man", the character Andrew does not realize his dream of being a living entity and having a soul...or does he? In the end, made of parts designed to duplicate the digestive and other functions found in man, he "dies"--his existence ceases. He does not gain true "awareness"--the kind we know.

Just some thoughts...sorry to veer this discussion back Off Topic.

--Forrest