X-Message-Number: 8543
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 1997 18:52:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Perry E. Metzger" <>
Subject: Human beings and Consciousness

I do not believe that human beings can possibly be consious the way a
computer can. After all, if you examine a human being in detail, one
will discover that humans just have these squishy things called "nerve
cells" that follow the laws of physics without any room for volition
at all. Obviously "nerve cells" put together in large quantities can
do a good job of pretending they are as flexible and interesting as
computers, but they operate by just following deterministic rules, so
they couldn't possibly be conscious.

Humans are also largely analog, and I think the use of analog
techniques in building mission critical computing devices has been
widely discredited. "Nerve cells" operate only on these fuzzily
defined voltage levels and not on the high level symbols a computer is
capable of manipulating.

Someday, perhaps, humans will be able to fool some robots into making
us think they are conscious, but it will only be an illusion -- we
robots know better.

		Sincerely,

		Joey the Robot

PS Not closed captioned for the sarcasm impaired.

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