>
> You must have a particular problem in mind to have
> made this
> comment.
I do, a set of problems:
1. Machine cooperation in fabrication
robots and other agents that can cooperate in
complex tasks such as manufacturing
non-robot-friendly components.
2. Synthetic Autonomous Agent Engineering
such as circuit board design
(this would operate completely in software)
3. Autonomous Agents for mission and vehicle
operation.
AA's used in space, and undersea exploration
4. General Robotic Autonomous Agents
ie., androids, specialized autonomous robots
for augmentation or replace of human presence
in any number of environments.
Obviously these are biggies no matter how you look
at it and are common interests to many researchers. I
can invision methods of crude consciousness
but consciousness in terms of what is required to
solve a particular problem
> In fact this group has come up with many
> novel ideas that
> have been discussed. Some were preconceived ideas
> brought to the
> discussion, other arose in the heat of debate. Some
> have been found to
> be wanting, and so have been left on the wayside.
> Other ideas have
> better stood the test of criticism, but are still
> contentious.
I guess I missed those.
>
> Consciousness per se, is a philosophical quagmire,
> that is unlikely to
> be solved anytime soon.
Based on my explorations I must conclude consciousness
of *any* kind is a thread that intersects the physical
realm (from somewhere else). Any tool or machine
construct that lends itself to observation of identity
seperate from other identities provides a scratch and
snif kind of intersection between here and *there* and
necessarily forms a thread of consciousness. Some
might describe this as an emergent construct.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Dr. Russell Standish Director
> High Performance Computing Support Unit, Phone 9385
> 6967
> UNSW SYDNEY 2052 Fax 9385
> 6965
> Australia R.Standish.domain.name.hidden
>
> Room 2075, Red Centre
> http://parallel.hpc.unsw.edu.au/rks
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert W.
__________________________________________________
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Received on Sun May 06 2001 - 20:33:34 PDT