Stathis Papaioannou wrote:
> Brent Meeker writes:
>
>
>>Stathis Papaioannou wrote:
>>
>>>Peter Jones writes (quoting SP):
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>>The constraints (a) and (b) you mention are ad hoc and an
>>>>>unnecessary complication. Suppose Klingon computers change their
>>>>>internal code every clock cycle according to the well-documented
>>>>>radioactive decay pattern of a sacred stone 2000 years ago. If we
>>>>>got our hands on one of these computers and monitored its
>>>>>internal states it would seem completely random; but if we had
>>>>>the Klingon manual, we would see that the computer was actually
>>>>>multiplying two numbers, or implementing a Klingon AI, or
>>>>>whatever. Would you say that these computations were not valid
>>>>>because it's a dumb way to design a computer?
>>>>
>>>>I'd say that a defintion of "computer" that applies to everything
>>>>is useless.
>>>
>>>
>>>I agree, it's completely useless to *us* because we couldn't interact
>>>with it. That would be the end of the matter unless we say that
>>>computation can lead to consciousness, creating as it were its own
>>>observer. Are you prepared to argue that the aforementioned Klingon
>>>AI suddenly stops being conscious when the last copy of the manual
>>>which would allow us to interact with it is destroyed?
>>
>>If it's intelligent we should be able to interact with it without a manual.
>
>
> I should have specified, there is no input or output device connected. With
> a "normal" computer we might look for patterns in its internal states and
> design drivers for a keyboard and monitor, but with this computer its
> internal states are apparently completely random unless you have the
> original design specifications.
>
> Stathis Papaioannou
I don't think "intelligence" is meaningful without an environment with
which it can interact. The same for computation: what distinguishes
computation and noise is a context in which it interacts with its
environment.
Brent Meeker
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Received on Sun Jul 30 2006 - 14:37:25 PDT