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But if we were given a roomba and had no basis of knowledge for electronics wouldn't it be just as mysterious as an insect?
by Eisenstein 4y ago
But if we were given a roomba and had no basis of knowledge for electronics wouldn't it be just as mysterious as an insect?
- latexr 4y agoWhen one knows nothing, everything is equally unknown and mysterious. That has no bearing on the complexity of the subject. There is a finite amount of knowledge on Roombas, and we have all of it. We don’t know if there’s a finite amount of knowledge on insects¹ but what we do know is already sufficient to eclipse the knowledge on Roombas, especially as it intertwines with the rest of biology and life. I ask again: > What separates humans from insects? And by extension, what separates us from a self-reproducing Roomba? Your answer to that question is paramount to understanding the basis of your initial argument and have a continued productive discussion. ¹ Especially with evolution and the environment constantly mixing things up.
- Eisenstein 4y agoWhat separates humans from insects, I would say is consciousness. The same thing with the roomba.
- latexr 4y agoThere is no conclusive evidence insects aren’t conscious. On the contrary: ants can pass the mirror test¹, which is one of the ways we test for consciousness². ¹ https://www.scinapse.io/papers/2180773430 https://www.scinapse.io/papers/2180773430 ² https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_consciousness#Mirror_test https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_consciousness#Mirror_te...
- Eisenstein 4y agoYou asked me and I answered. I firmly believe that insects are not conscious.
- henearkr 4y agoConsciousness in itself is an empty word, there are many definitions of it, and, most importantly, each definition equates it to a set of properties that you can test separately. Such tests show that some arthropods rank high on the scale of consciousness! Jumping spiders are the most popular example of exceptionnally smart arthropods, but bees, ants, or crabs have also well developped minds.
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- Eisenstein 4y agoIf I programmed a roomba to display the same attributes, would you say that it was conscious, then?
- henearkr 4y agoYes. But such complex program is still years away...
- Eisenstein 4y agoYou never answered this, though: Would you have a moral qualm with turning off a self-replicating roomba any more or less than killing an insect?