>Is it a mistake though to think of people as machines? Yes and no... It is not a mistake because much (and perhaps eventually all) of observable human functio

>Is it a mistake though to think of people as machines? Yes and no... It is not a mistake because much (and perhaps eventually all) of observable human functionality and behavior can be logically explained and therefore eventually simulated. However, when logic becomes one's "Maslow's hammer" then of course not only are people machines but all of existence is just a giant machine. It's an easy mistake to make because we tend to conflate a very powerful tool used by the mind to operate in reality with reality itself. I think humans are unique (at least on this planet) in their ability to ask this question, but also in their ability to discover that the answer is negative - i.e there is much more to reality than a complex "dead" machine.