I agree with you 100% about the mirror test, and what we consider conscious thought may just be noise or static hiding our real perceptions and beliefs. I also think we grossly underestimate 'intelligence' at a cellular level, and if we lived long enough and cared we might even percieve intelligence at a celestial level. I do think it is naive to think as we create increasingly complex digital systems that some form of digital system will not evolve in the primordial digital soups of 1s and 0s.
The idea of thousands of monkeys with thousands of keyboards eventually producing Shakespeare has the slightest kernel of truth. Far more likely that those monkeys would evolve their own written language first and that we might struggle to understand its beauty. I think through sheer volume and statistics AIs can produce derivative works and function a little like a microscope making patterns clear we might struggle to see ourselves.
However, like an athlete has to play a sport, we will not achieve enlightment even if an AI shines a light on it without experiencing life ourselves. The danger now is following artificial intelligence which may not reflect human values anymore than a flatworm roaming our intestines.
Lots of good, meaty thoughts. I'm waiting for the right time to flesh out my own regarding AI and how it relates to "intelligence". Intelligence has always been used like a sharp knife, to divide, to rank, to cut up ... it is the weapon of all elites - define intelligence to suit your own purposes. Gould's Mismeasurement of Man relates how eugenics did it - we are now witnessing round 2 with artificial life "intelligence". I agree with you about the cellular level and also think field theory shows there is more out there than we know, more fields, more communication and consciousness - however you define it. We see through our narrow doors of perception. Values - I think that is being lost when discussing AI. What purpose, value does it serve if it doesn't help the everyday man - give him / her time to relax, repose, work us towards a cleaner, safer, more nurturing and loving world?
I agree with you 100% about the mirror test, and what we consider conscious thought may just be noise or static hiding our real perceptions and beliefs. I also think we grossly underestimate 'intelligence' at a cellular level, and if we lived long enough and cared we might even percieve intelligence at a celestial level. I do think it is naive to think as we create increasingly complex digital systems that some form of digital system will not evolve in the primordial digital soups of 1s and 0s.
The idea of thousands of monkeys with thousands of keyboards eventually producing Shakespeare has the slightest kernel of truth. Far more likely that those monkeys would evolve their own written language first and that we might struggle to understand its beauty. I think through sheer volume and statistics AIs can produce derivative works and function a little like a microscope making patterns clear we might struggle to see ourselves.
However, like an athlete has to play a sport, we will not achieve enlightment even if an AI shines a light on it without experiencing life ourselves. The danger now is following artificial intelligence which may not reflect human values anymore than a flatworm roaming our intestines.
Lots of good, meaty thoughts. I'm waiting for the right time to flesh out my own regarding AI and how it relates to "intelligence". Intelligence has always been used like a sharp knife, to divide, to rank, to cut up ... it is the weapon of all elites - define intelligence to suit your own purposes. Gould's Mismeasurement of Man relates how eugenics did it - we are now witnessing round 2 with artificial life "intelligence". I agree with you about the cellular level and also think field theory shows there is more out there than we know, more fields, more communication and consciousness - however you define it. We see through our narrow doors of perception. Values - I think that is being lost when discussing AI. What purpose, value does it serve if it doesn't help the everyday man - give him / her time to relax, repose, work us towards a cleaner, safer, more nurturing and loving world?