X-Message-Number: 14778
Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2000 07:19:26 -0400
From: Thomas Donaldson <>
Subject: once more on intelligent creatures

Hi everyone!

Yet more on identity:

1. In response to Brent Thomas: the system of artificial neurons in no
   way equals the ability of living neurons to rewire themselves. The
   problem is one of volume, not just the ability to rewire.

2. I actually hold with the notion that we are primarily patterns. 
   However when you look in detail about how brains work, it's quite
   clear than NO computer built up to now really imitates the way we
   work well enough to make it enough like us that we could consider
   it living AND intelligent. Will we someday make devices capable of
   doing that? If we choose to do so, though I would put that time
   much farther in the future ... and we may well not choose to do
    so, simply because doing so creates a threat with no benefit.

3. Intelligence (to any degree you wish) does not by itself create
   an animal or device that could compete with us. Our lower brains
   may be simple, but they are essential to our operation as 
   independent living creatures. We do not solve the problem of 
   creating an independent creature simply by giving i
   intelligence. We have to give it independent feelings, too. If
   we do not do that, then we merely have a very intelligent tool,
   nothing more.

   Such devices would be very useful for many of our purposes, and will
   very likely be made. But they would remain useful machines, no more.


4. In some of the books I listed (Pollack, HOW TO BUILD A PERSON, in
   particular) there's a strong suggestion that the structure of 
   an intelligent being must have a certain type. Basically Pollack's
   model had many neural nets working independently, with a top order
   neural net providing consciousness. Because it was top order, it
   dealt only with higher level events, and remained unconscious
   of many lower-order events. Such a structure may ALSO be needed
   to create any independent creature.

			Best wishes and long long life to all,

				Thomas Donaldson

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