tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4501419294567207665.post1892496406496881821..comments2024-01-01T18:40:30.350-05:00Comments on Ryan Cooper: The coming human obsolescenceRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03810858979281766801noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4501419294567207665.post-34567987640284190542011-02-18T13:36:11.287-05:002011-02-18T13:36:11.287-05:00Let's set the hubris aside, I don't think ...Let's set the hubris aside, I don't think that's adding much to the discussion. I don't think you're accurately stating the scientific hypothesis. I can think of two obvious ones: 1) it is possible to completely replicate all functions of the human brain with artificial components; 2) it is possible to successfully recreate the architecture of the brain inside a computer.<br /><br />Now there is definitely some bleed-through with philosophy when we ask how we're going to test these—there is no universally accepted standard for true AI. But I think the Turing test will serve in a pinch. With that one the candidate AI has to be indistinguishable from a true human candidate to a blinded observer. True, it's not as cut and dried as an NMR spectrum, but it's fundamentally testable, and there are a lot of other tests one might pick if that one doesn't sound satisfying. We're not trying to undermine the foundations of science like the Discovery Institute.Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03810858979281766801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4501419294567207665.post-51227239203575742852011-02-18T11:50:33.021-05:002011-02-18T11:50:33.021-05:00Is it not also hubris to assume the human brain to...Is it not also hubris to assume the human brain to be too complicated to replicate? Seems like you're saying that a human is more than a collection of atoms; it takes some hubris to say that we are in some fundamental way distinguished from everything else in the universe. SRAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4501419294567207665.post-58862197445149172702011-02-18T09:53:37.124-05:002011-02-18T09:53:37.124-05:00Don't know where to begin. Recreating a parti...Don't know where to begin. Recreating a particular arrangement of atoms, even if it could be done, does not a human brain make. There is no scientific hypothesis that states if x, then the human brain. It is too complicated. That's my point. And in my humble opinion, it is hubris.<br />BAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4501419294567207665.post-84609416790263830272011-02-17T14:40:36.903-05:002011-02-17T14:40:36.903-05:00I'm also reminded that while Icarus drowned, h...I'm also reminded that while Icarus drowned, his father Daedelus succeeded in flying. I'm not sure who would be a better example. Maybe Milton's Lucifer?Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03810858979281766801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4501419294567207665.post-87935047961512917632011-02-17T14:19:22.061-05:002011-02-17T14:19:22.061-05:00No offense, but it seems to me that this kind of t...No offense, but it seems to me that this kind of thing has nothing to do with hubris, or hubris is ancillary at most. Scientific hypotheses are either true or not. One might say it's hubris to think that the set of possible actions is in any way influenced by man's opinions, be they hubristic or nay. What about the brain makes it impossible to copy? It's fantastically complicated to be sure, but it's still just a particular arrangement of atoms. They've already succeeded with a goodly chunk of a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/dec/20/research.it" rel="nofollow">rat's brain,</a> and that was more than three years ago.Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03810858979281766801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4501419294567207665.post-10574114753111791702011-02-17T11:57:52.924-05:002011-02-17T11:57:52.924-05:00It's the hubris of man to think he can recreat...It's the hubris of man to think he can recreate a likness of the human brain. Like Icarus' wings, this too shall fail. BAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4501419294567207665.post-37566463041848750782011-02-17T10:14:21.655-05:002011-02-17T10:14:21.655-05:00I figured you'd have something to say about th...I figured you'd have something to say about this one :-) I'm just hoping we can avoid the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_goo" rel="nofollow">gray goo hypothesis.</a>Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03810858979281766801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4501419294567207665.post-20698889751273397582011-02-17T10:01:11.590-05:002011-02-17T10:01:11.590-05:00some of us are already speaking out! it's jus...some of us are already speaking out! it's just a matter of time before people wise up and start trying to protect their jobs, maybe robotophobia will be the end of xenophobia...Rebeccahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16046400472167850327noreply@blogger.com