Comments for Auxiliary Memory http://jameswharris.wordpress.com Things I want to remember - James Wallace Harris Wed, 22 May 2013 14:53:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ Comment on The Evolution and Education of Artificial Minds by WCG http://jameswharris.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/the-evolution-and-education-of-artificial-minds/#comment-8453 Wed, 22 May 2013 14:53:16 +0000 https://jameswharris.wordpress.com/?p=2819#comment-8453 I have no idea when it comes to self-aware machines, though I don’t see any reason why it couldn’t happen, in principle. I don’t know why we’d want to make machines like human beings, though. We’ve already got human beings, so wouldn’t it be like reinventing the wheel? What would be the point?

Computers can do things we can’t. That’s the big advantage they give us. Robots would certainly be useful, but, again, it would be because they could do things we can’t.

OK, they could also do things which are too dangerous or too disagreeable for human beings. But if that were the case, we still wouldn’t want imitation humans, because they’d be people, then. And that would rule them out for jobs like that.

For other things, I suspect that we might just link human brains to machines, to augment our abilities. There’s no reason to invent human brains when we already have them. Other jobs don’t require a self-aware brain, so it would be a waste to create self-aware robots for them. And it would be unethical to create self-aware machines just for our own amusement.

I don’t know. It’s fun to speculate about such things. But I’m not even going to pretend to forecast the future, because there’s no way we’ll get it right. It’s fun to look at the possibilities, though.

]]> Comment on The Evolution and Education of Artificial Minds by jameswharris http://jameswharris.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/the-evolution-and-education-of-artificial-minds/#comment-8452 Wed, 22 May 2013 13:07:20 +0000 https://jameswharris.wordpress.com/?p=2819#comment-8452 Actually, we have very powerful artificial taste, touch and smell devices now that could be incorporated into an artificial being. We could build a machine that could detect smells better than any animal, or taste chemicals in parts per billions, or see far beyond the visible spectrum that humans can.

]]> Comment on The Evolution and Education of Artificial Minds by stevenashears http://jameswharris.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/the-evolution-and-education-of-artificial-minds/#comment-8451 Wed, 22 May 2013 12:27:24 +0000 https://jameswharris.wordpress.com/?p=2819#comment-8451 Well written and thought provoking. However, I wonder without the sense of smell, touch and taste in the development of artificial intelligence if it will ever become truly sentient. Often times I believe that the sensory input from the so called minor senses is the tapestry upon which the brain paints the narrative that we interpret as reality. Which, as the article points out, would leave an artificial entity with a different view of nature, and it’s place in it.

]]> Comment on “The Star Pit” – The Limits of Limitations by jameswharris http://jameswharris.wordpress.com/2007/03/14/%e2%80%9cthe-star-pit%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-the-limits-of-limitations/#comment-8448 Mon, 20 May 2013 19:18:53 +0000 http://jameswharris.wordpress.com/2007/03/14/%e2%80%9cthe-star-pit%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-the-limits-of-limitations/#comment-8448 Three of those comments are just pingbacks. Links that mention this essay. I not much for social networks. I just write about what I’m thinking and post it here.

]]> Comment on “The Star Pit” – The Limits of Limitations by Follow the hilarious activities of a number of old age pensioners whom think. http://jameswharris.wordpress.com/2007/03/14/%e2%80%9cthe-star-pit%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-the-limits-of-limitations/#comment-8447 Mon, 20 May 2013 18:01:08 +0000 http://jameswharris.wordpress.com/2007/03/14/%e2%80%9cthe-star-pit%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-the-limits-of-limitations/#comment-8447 I seldom write comments, however i did a few searching and wound up here “The Star Pit” –
The Limits of Limitations | Auxiliary Memory. And I do have 2 questions for
you if it’s allright. Is it just me or does it seem like a few of these comments come across as if they are coming from brain dead individuals? :-P And, if you are posting at other online social sites, I’d like to follow anything new you have to
post. Could you list of all of your community sites like your linkedin profile, Facebook page
or twitter feed?

]]> Comment on The Evolution and Education of Artificial Minds by jameswharris http://jameswharris.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/the-evolution-and-education-of-artificial-minds/#comment-8445 Mon, 20 May 2013 11:30:11 +0000 https://jameswharris.wordpress.com/?p=2819#comment-8445 I agree. I think consciousness is a spectrum and humans are a continuation of what’s come before in the animals kingdom. I think we’re different because we have a language to think about ourselves. I think some animals have a proto-language, and even language skills are part of a continuum.

]]> Comment on The Defining Science Fiction Books of the 1960s by Rogue Moon | Peter J Verdil http://jameswharris.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/the-defining-science-fiction-books-of-the-1960s/#comment-8444 Mon, 20 May 2013 08:54:14 +0000 https://jameswharris.wordpress.com/?p=2699#comment-8444 […] The Defining Science Fiction Books of the 1960s (jameswharris.wordpress.com) […]

]]> Comment on The Defining Science Fiction Books of the 1990s by Dragonflight / Dragonquest (Pern (Chronological Order)) | Peter J Verdil http://jameswharris.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/the-defining-science-fiction-books-of-the-1990s/#comment-8443 Mon, 20 May 2013 08:45:34 +0000 https://jameswharris.wordpress.com/?p=2796#comment-8443 […] The Defining Science Fiction Books of the 1990s (jameswharris.wordpress.com) […]

]]> Comment on The Evolution and Education of Artificial Minds by paintedjaguar http://jameswharris.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/the-evolution-and-education-of-artificial-minds/#comment-8442 Mon, 20 May 2013 05:02:59 +0000 https://jameswharris.wordpress.com/?p=2819#comment-8442 Anyone who thinks cats aren’t self-aware hasn’t spent enough time with one. Dolphins can recognize themselves in a mirror. Chimps use tools and parrots have demonstrated language skills. Humans aren’t as special as some people think.

]]> Comment on The Evolution and Education of Artificial Minds by jameswharris http://jameswharris.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/the-evolution-and-education-of-artificial-minds/#comment-8441 Mon, 20 May 2013 02:35:30 +0000 https://jameswharris.wordpress.com/?p=2819#comment-8441 I also think machine minds are descendants. I think they will also be the true space explorers. I do not think humans are the crown of creation. We’re just one step along the path. I believe humans will inherit the Earth, and probably Mars, but machines are better suited to live in the rest of the solar system.

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