ROBOTS, And A Possible Situation of Future Sentience

[Morpheus]

Originally Posted by fey421

You can make human robots but they're never going to be truly aware...the closest you're get is the human cyborg...superhumans...buy some nano bits, insert them all from your local store, super offers all in the future...

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Well, commonly, an assertment of this kind is called, 'An Assumption". You also limit the definition of, "Cyborg".
Which is something that may be either primarilly human in origin, or primarilly, "Machine".


From Wired.com

”Algorithm is a word that one hears used much more frequently than in the past.

One of the reasons is that scientists have learned that computers can learn on their own if given a few simple instructions."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithm

[Clover]

It would never happen because the masses would never allow it happen. The people would never allow it or vote for it. In the United States for example, there is a massive gap between the poor and rich. Ever heard of the "revolt of the proletariat" theory in economics? When the poor rebel against the rich. Well, that would happen, and I can imagine that would be an ugly day in America.....Theoretically speaking. There is too much emotion in humans to allow AI to take over positions and jobs.

Originally Posted by BlueClover

It would never happen because the masses would never allow it happen. The people would never allow it or vote for it. In the United States for example, there is a massive gap between the poor and rich. Ever heard of the "revolt of the proletariat" theory in economics? When the poor rebel against the rich. Well, that would happen, and I can imagine that would be an ugly day in America.....Theoretically speaking. There is too much emotion in humans to allow AI to take over positions and jobs.

Social engineering is the trick here. Politicians and marketing gurus are good at that. The trick is to get people used to it a bit a time.

[Clover]

Originally Posted by Badger1777

Social engineering is the trick here. Politicians and marketing gurus are good at that. The trick is to get people used to it a bit a time.

From a entertaining and social standpoint, sure. It's amusing, intriguing at most, however, ultimately, we as humans are here for survival and trying to make ends meet. People are very passionate about their jobs and supporting their families, I just don't see an acceptance from the masses of AI's taking over jobs and the workforce. For the most part, many politicians are lobbied by big time corporations, and it would be a corporations DREAM to cut costs and fire the work force in exchange to pay an emotionless metal data processor. People are too passionate to allow this to happen.

[Morpheus]

Currently, Google has in experimental stages, on roads, the driverless vehicle.

How many jobs would be lost if this technology takes hold?

I find the whole subject of artificial intelligence fascinating. The dilemma that consciousness is so difficult to define, and yet we are all certain we have it.

Even if I was talking to a robot, who could talk about it's feelings, just as eloquently as a human, I think i'd still be questioning - is this just an increbidly complex piece of software putting together words and simulating patterns of speech, with no true self-awareness?

I've never been convinced that things like the Turing Test are any way to judge whether a machine is self-aware - since it could just as reasonably be said to be simply a test of whether a machine can masquerade as being self-aware, and without a real scientific definition of consciousness, I can't imagine how we could ever be certain.

Of course, I could apply the same logic to every person I speak to :)

Originally Posted by BlueTurtle

I find the whole subject of artificial intelligence fascinating. The dilemma that consciousness is so difficult to define, and yet we are all certain we have it.

Even if I was talking to a robot, who could talk about it's feelings, just as eloquently as a human, I think i'd still be questioning - is this just an increbidly complex piece of software putting together words and simulating patterns of speech, with no true self-awareness?

I've never been convinced that things like the Turing Test are any way to judge whether a machine is self-aware - since it could just as reasonably be said to be simply a test of whether a machine can masquerade as being self-aware, and without a real scientific definition of consciousness, I can't imagine how we could ever be certain.

Of course, I could apply the same logic to every person I speak to :)

All valid points.

Consider this also. WHY are we self aware? Why do we have emotions? While I do believe in the spirit, I also believe in the pure mechanics of it all. My computer, running a piece of off the shelf software (Windows 7), is aware that it has a hard disk of a given size, and it senses me pressing the keys on the keyboard. Of course it is not really aware, it is just software running a set of programmed instructions, and responding to input as programmed.

Now consider a human. Obviously we're a bit more complex than Windows 7, but if we stub a toe, and it hurts, why does it hurt? Well, if it didn't hurt, perhaps we would not learn to be more careful to avoid it happening again. The pain tells us that we might be injured, or might become injured if we allow something to keep happening. We could say the same about all our feelings. Why do we fall in love? Perhaps because we are preprogrammed to know that taking a partner will 1) enable us to procreate and 2) will enable us to form a team that shares responsibilities?

Obviously I am massively oversimplifying, but I think the core concept is valid. That doesn't exclude the concept of soul or spirit though. What if our feelings and 'programming' is such as it is because we are simply parts of a much larger intelligence? I actually believe this to be the case. Everything is actually just one thing. Sentient machines will one day be part of that greater intelligence. Us humans are here to fulfil a specific purpose, as all animals are. Robots are starting to help us with that, and one day we will be in a position to make those robots much more independent. They will be as natural as we are, because we are natural, so anything we do is in accordance with the rules of nature.

Hi Badger 1777 you make very interesting reading, actually everyone has....What I wondered was will your A1 robot be able to AP (Astral project) or meditate & if so what visions will it see ?

[Morpheus]

"Exponentially", is an oft used word of reknowned Inventor Ray Kurzwell.
( kurzweilai.net )

Who despite being descibed as a "Transhumanist" say's he dislikes the word, because he feels that advancing technologies and Computerization will become part of humanity, and, not that we ought to think of transcending it.
Who also states that given the "exponential" advancement of science and technology, that in 20 years, (From 2011), Computers will attain fully human capabilities.

As he states, as the atheist, "technology will replace the hope of religion". This is the ideal and goal after all, no? To attain a heaven on Earth through technological advancement?

But of course, there are the downsides to Invention and Technology, involving human nature, true?
Can we think of examples?

Here we go. Computers 'trained' to understand music.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-29146655

Not just to formally analyse it (which they've been able to do for ages), but to decipher the 'mood' of the music.