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Old Mar 30, 2005, 11:59 am   #13 (permalink) (top)
LogicaLunatic
Hrm...
 
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Quote:
Quote by: MerlinsByte
Merlin replies...there are many things that exist but are impossible to prove. One could not prove that another is self aware, for example.

eh? Prove that I am self aware and not an AI program. Of course this is what Einstein called a thought experiment. So my self awareness is "real" but you cant prove that its real, can you?

that would be just one example.

mb
You're obsessed with "proof".

We don't need to prove that something exists. Take gravity for instance. It's existance hasn't been 100% proven but we still say it exists.

Are you self aware? First I would define self aware. Then, since I am self aware I would look at myself to see what self aware beings are. Then I would take my observations and see if you fit. If you happen to have no heart or lungs I'd have to say that you are some sort of AI program. But if you are a human being, just like I am, and your heart is beating and there is brain activity then it would be safe to say that you are self aware, just as I am.

Then we could take our model (human with beating heart and brain activity) and apply it to other things and beings to try to predict whether they're self aware or not.

Blah blah blah, on and on and on...

You get the idea. Outside of mathematics, we don't rely upon what can be "proven".


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