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Rogermcfarley t1_jalo044 wrote

Reply to comment by green_meklar in With The Help Of AI, By When Will There Be Drugs That De-Ages Humans And Keeps Us Forever Young? by AnakinRagnarsson66

Surely we'd need to understand the basis of consciousness first. What is the principle construct of matter that forms consciousness? At what point does consciousness arise from organisation of matter? What are the mechanisms involved etc?

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green_meklar t1_jayjkwl wrote

You mean for mind uploading? Honestly, probably not. I doubt we'll have entirely solved the HPOC by the time we figure out mind uploading technology.

We will figure out what sorts of algorithms generate consciousness, even if we don't entirely understand why. That will probably be achieved before we master mind uploading, or at least not long after.

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Rogermcfarley t1_jazooid wrote

Generate actual consciousness or an illusion of consciousness? The issue is the definition of consciousness itself and there are multiple philosophical definitions and thoughts on consciousness. Even if a machine appears to have conscious thought it doesn't mean that machine is actually conscious. I for example believe I'm conscious because I have awareness of my surroundings and inner reflection of my being. Of course that is my own belief in my experience. However a person could believe they are the only conscious being in the Universe because they only experience their own Intrinsic consciousness, of which they assume is the same as other humans.

So whether a machine has actual consciousness in the way humans experience consciousness there doesn't exist a test. We can perform experiments/tests to see if the machine is representing consciousness in the same way we do but that doesn't mean the machine is conscious.

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green_meklar t1_jb8robf wrote

>Generate actual consciousness or an illusion of consciousness?

The real thing, of course. Fakes only take you so far.

>We can perform experiments/tests to see if the machine is representing consciousness in the same way we do but that doesn't mean the machine is conscious.

It can strongly suggest so, especially if we combine it with a robust algorithmic theory of consciousness.

Presumably none of us will ever be 100% certain that we're not the only thinking being in existence, but that's fine, we get plenty of other things done with less than 100% certainty.

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