2 ms·

Pick a model, a seed, a temperature and fix some floating-point annoyances and the output is a deterministic algorithm from the input.

• layble 2y ago
  Maybe consciousness is just what lives in the floating-point annoyances
  • kadoban 2y ago
    Not really possible. The models work fine once you fix them, it's just making sure you account for batching and concurrency's effect on how floating point gives very (very) slightly different answers based on ordering and grouping and etc.
• aljarry 2y ago
  That's true with any neural network or ML model. Pick a few points, use the same algorithm with the same hyperparameters and random seed, and you'll end up with the same result. Determinism doesn't mean that the "logic" or "reason" is an effect of the algorithm doing the computations.
  • kadoban 2y ago
    The logic or reason is emergent in the combinations of the activations of different artificial neurons, no?
    • aljarry 2y ago
      Yes, exactly. What I meant is: it's not the code itself that encodes this logic or reasoning.
• Lerc 2y ago
  A lot of people look towards non-determanism to be a source for free will. It's often what underlies peoples thinking when they discount the ability of AI to be conscious. They want to believe they have free will and consider determinism to be incompatible with free will. Events are either caused, or uncaused. Either can be causes. Caused events happen because of the cause. Uncaused events are by definition random. If you can detect any real pattern in an event you can infer that it was caused by something. Relying on decision making by randomness over reasons does not seem to be a good basis of free will. If we have free will it will be in spite of non-determinism, not because of it.