If humans are purely physical and computers are purely physical, can they be the same? According to naturalists, consequently atheists, and some scientists, humans are merely physical intelligence(just a brain in a body). Human emotion(heart), conscience, will, passion, questioning and morals are confined to the capacity of our brains, all of our "human-ness" derives its origin from our physical, natural brain(if our brain dies, we die).
However, if this is true, in theory, all we are, is computers; a physical intelligence. Furthermore, a computer is an imitation of our brain; a source of processing, analyzing, sorting and distributing information. If this is true, may be not currently, but in the future(only constrained by modern technology) we will be able to program computers with an exact, identical design to our brains(and with that, all of our functional "human-ness").
We are brains our brains are computers we are computers.
This begs the question though; are we really just computers? Can a physical intelligence have morals, conscience, passion, questions, will, etc? If so, then so can computers as well, once they reach our level of physical intelligence, yes, no?
I think That the main difference between computers and humans is there ability to reflect and create on previously obtained knowledge. like Ms Rose told us in class about the how computers do not really understand the information they are being presented to answer, they just use their programed method to link the question with a already processed answer stored. So in summary a computer can only be as smart or as adapt its master allows it to be, while a human can not be restricted and can be free to reflect cohesively with the information given and expand upon it.
There's an obvious physical difference but if you look past that then the only way they are different is through human emotions. Can a computer think happy thoughts or go certifiably insane? The answer is no. Humans work mainly through the way of emotions and bias while computers do not. Instead they use their programming and intelligence given by humans to work.
Computers don't have a subconscious that allows them to think differently internally and act differently physically or externally. They won't be able to make a argument and change it or think philosophically as the information they have on a certain topic is specific and will be based on statistics and real knowledge. If it is scientifically proven and backed up by multiple research as the computer sees it, it must be 100% accurate then. In philosophy, as it can be seen back in chapter 1, questions revolving around a central topic are used to have an all around view on something. A computer is like a mathematician, or physicist that bases its responses on concrete evidence and solid facts. Computers are lacking the millions of nerves all over our body and their senses and emotions will never be near as close as our sensory receptors. Imagine computers made to give sexual pleasure. No matter how intricate they are developed the human feeling would never be there.
Ryan, I understand your perspective about how the mind is the control center. If computers in the future are designed the same way as our brains, then there is a possibility that they would be able to possess the same intelligence as us. Thus making us no different than the computers due to our capabilities. However, consider the human characteristics that make us humans: humans truly understands the meaning of their wisdom they have the ability to learn, adapt, and grow the neurons of their brain humans have the capacity for compassion and emotions they can think, rationalize, and analyze These characteristics are not all present in computers, the ones that are present in computers, have flaws. Computers don’t understand the meaning of their wisdom. They have silicon chips that instead of neurons that aren’t able to grow in size even though their memory can increase. They do not have the ability to learn, and adapt. In case they are, they are programmed by a human brain. So essentially, humans are still their control center. They do now have the capacity for compassion and emotions. Lastly, I would agree that they can think, rationalize, and analyze. However, considering that they are programmed by a human brain, it is invalid for them to be considering computers and humans equally.
Computers are machines humans began to make very recently that can do tasks to help humans with everyday activities. The main difference between man and machine: Computers are human made, humans are made by God. Computers will never be like an “authentic” human being, because no human can reproduce his kind with just memory chips and other accessories. Nature’s reproductive system is a phenomenon that is very bizarre and unique. No human will every make a computer that can think like us or talk like us with emotion or bleed like us with pain. All these things are unique to living organisms something a computer is not because it is not made up of flesh and has no free will. Computers do tasks as they are taught to, a computer can’t reflect on his actions, they are like the wind, just go with the flow. Everything is just a series of input and output all controlled by the electron flow, modern computers are so advanced and new things are getting formulated as I write. Computers could be very helpful in the future or maybe even catastrophic, but only time can tell.
Omar makes a excellent point, computers are only as smart as the human that built them. And the difference between a human and a computer is that we have more then one way of arriving at a conclusion or answer while computers have only the way they were programmed to arrive at a specific answer. The biggest difference of all is our ability to feel! We have emotion something a computer will never be able to comprehend, even if the most brilliant human on the earth had designed it to do just that.
To respond to Vrishti about humans knowing the extent of our wisdom.
Well, let's say in the future computer's spawn consciousness and a certain "humanness". They are intellectually, emotional and spiritually identical to us. Meaning they can feel, think and ask all the same questions we can, where did we come from, what's the meaning of life, etc. They would know us to be their creators and therefore the extent of their wisdom would be us. They ask the same questions as us, the difference, they are met with an answer, we are not. We do not know the meaning of our existence, so we should be skeptical about any wisdom we assume to know. Computers are intelligently designed, they have a creator, us, but so are we, so then who is our creator?
The difference then, computers know their creator, we do not.
The difference between computers and humans is the fact that computer are made by a manufactured where as humans are created by natural birth. Computer aren't able to think for themselves and do the thinks humans can do. Yes it is in fact that Comouters are able to provide rational answers, that may puzzle any human being using an internet based source. How ever Computer aren't equipped to think, move, hear, see, touch, smell, or even taste the way humans are able to do.
Okay Ryan I understand what you mean now. So you are saying that computers are intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually as capable as us.
To answer your question about who is our creator? Well, isn't that where God comes into play. Don't most people believe in God because they believe that we too have a Creator. So when I think of it that way, it makes us equal. Yet again there are those who don't believe in God. That is when science comes into play. If someone doesn't believe in the Creator than they believe in the fact of human reproduction. For them its only a matter of people being able to give birth, which differentiates humans from computers. So according to an Atheist its reproduction of humans versus computer's manufacturing that leads them to the conclusion that computers are not humans. But for a religious person, who believes in a Creator, there is no difference in terms of knowing the extent of wisdom. However, we as humans have self control and computers will never be able to gain self control as they are dependent on human instructions. For example: Asimo, the robot, will just stand there without a function if it wasn't instructed on what to do. So there will be no purpose for their survival. No body other than humans will ever be able to control them. So, even religious people will have to agree that computers are not equivalent to humans.
Humans possess intelligence, computers do not. The key factors in defining this, are that computers lack the ability to learn from experience and emotion. Humans rely on various forms of experience and CREATIVE THINKING to formulate judgements and reasoning. Computers lack all of this. They are only capable of doing what is programmed into them. There is no creative thought process. They also lack the ability to understand and have emotion.
Humans are naturally created. Humans conceive naturally, while computers are made with the ideas of the creator. As humans, we are not certain that there is a creator of each one of us. However, for computers, we know that the computer was created my human. Humans have the ability to make decisions based on rationality, empiricism, irrational feelings, and fears. Computers do not have this ability.
As alisha was sayin humans are naturally created. Computers are just robots, a good example is in a movie "I-robot" where there was a scene of a young girl drowning along with a older male and the robot calculated the young girl had a lower chance of surviving then the male did so it saved the male. It shows that they make decisions based on calculations and not emotions or intution.
I think that, on the most fundamental level, there is no difference between a human brain and a computer. Everything that we think, everything that we do, is all just the result of an extremely complicated set of calculations. Of course, right now computers are not complete imitations. They still have a long way to go before they will be able to function as we do, learn intuitively, react on an emotional basis, etc. But think about the theory of Simulacra; the idea that when a simulation is so perfect, it becomes the real thing. Sure in the future we will just be creating simulated emotions for our robots, just programming them to respond to situations as if they were happy, but is there any difference? If the outcome is completely the same, is there any difference between a simulated desire and an actual one? Between real and manufactured pain, happiness, love?
Very good question, ill proceed to answer.
ReplyDeleteIf humans are purely physical and computers are purely physical, can they be the same? According to naturalists, consequently atheists, and some scientists, humans are merely physical intelligence(just a brain in a body). Human emotion(heart), conscience, will, passion, questioning and morals are confined to the capacity of our brains, all of our "human-ness" derives its origin from our physical, natural brain(if our brain dies, we die).
However, if this is true, in theory, all we are, is computers; a physical intelligence. Furthermore, a computer is an imitation of our brain; a source of processing, analyzing, sorting and distributing information. If this is true, may be not currently, but in the future(only constrained by modern technology) we will be able to program computers with an exact, identical design to our brains(and with that, all of our functional "human-ness").
We are brains
our brains are computers
we are computers.
This begs the question though; are we really just computers? Can a physical intelligence have morals, conscience, passion, questions, will, etc? If so, then so can computers as well, once they reach our level of physical intelligence, yes, no?
I think That the main difference between computers and humans is there ability to reflect and create on previously obtained knowledge. like Ms Rose told us in class about the how computers do not really understand the information they are being presented to answer, they just use their programed method to link the question with a already processed answer stored. So in summary a computer can only be as smart or as adapt its master allows it to be, while a human can not be restricted and can be free to reflect cohesively with the information given and expand upon it.
ReplyDeleteThere's an obvious physical difference but if you look past that then the only way they are different is through human emotions. Can a computer think happy thoughts or go certifiably insane? The answer is no. Humans work mainly through the way of emotions and bias while computers do not. Instead they use their programming and intelligence given by humans to work.
ReplyDeleteComputers don't have a subconscious that allows them to think differently internally and act differently physically or externally. They won't be able to make a argument and change it or think philosophically as the information they have on a certain topic is specific and will be based on statistics and real knowledge. If it is scientifically proven and backed up by multiple research as the computer sees it, it must be 100% accurate then. In philosophy, as it can be seen back in chapter 1, questions revolving around a central topic are used to have an all around view on something. A computer is like a mathematician, or physicist that bases its responses on concrete evidence and solid facts. Computers are lacking the millions of nerves all over our body and their senses and emotions will never be near as close as our sensory receptors. Imagine computers made to give sexual pleasure. No matter how intricate they are developed the human feeling would never be there.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRyan, I understand your perspective about how the mind is the control center. If computers in the future are designed the same way as our brains, then there is a possibility that they would be able to possess the same intelligence as us. Thus making us no different than the computers due to our capabilities.
ReplyDeleteHowever, consider the human characteristics that make us humans:
humans truly understands the meaning of their wisdom
they have the ability to learn, adapt, and grow the neurons of their brain
humans have the capacity for compassion and emotions
they can think, rationalize, and analyze
These characteristics are not all present in computers, the ones that are present in computers, have flaws. Computers don’t understand the meaning of their wisdom. They have silicon chips that instead of neurons that aren’t able to grow in size even though their memory can increase. They do not have the ability to learn, and adapt. In case they are, they are programmed by a human brain. So essentially, humans are still their control center. They do now have the capacity for compassion and emotions. Lastly, I would agree that they can think, rationalize, and analyze. However, considering that they are programmed by a human brain, it is invalid for them to be considering computers and humans equally.
Computers are machines humans began to make very recently that can do tasks to help humans with everyday activities. The main difference between man and machine: Computers are human made, humans are made by God. Computers will never be like an “authentic” human being, because no human can reproduce his kind with just memory chips and other accessories. Nature’s reproductive system is a phenomenon that is very bizarre and unique. No human will every make a computer that can think like us or talk like us with emotion or bleed like us with pain. All these things are unique to living organisms something a computer is not because it is not made up of flesh and has no free will. Computers do tasks as they are taught to, a computer can’t reflect on his actions, they are like the wind, just go with the flow. Everything is just a series of input and output all controlled by the electron flow, modern computers are so advanced and new things are getting formulated as I write. Computers could be very helpful in the future or maybe even catastrophic, but only time can tell.
ReplyDeleteOmar makes a excellent point, computers are only as smart as the human that built them. And the difference between a human and a computer is that we have more then one way of arriving at a conclusion or answer while computers have only the way they were programmed to arrive at a specific answer. The biggest difference of all is our ability to feel! We have emotion something a computer will never be able to comprehend, even if the most brilliant human on the earth had designed it to do just that.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTo respond to Vrishti about humans knowing the extent of our wisdom.
ReplyDeleteWell, let's say in the future computer's spawn consciousness and a certain "humanness". They are intellectually, emotional and spiritually identical to us. Meaning they can feel, think and ask all the same questions we can, where did we come from, what's the meaning of life, etc. They would know us to be their creators and therefore the extent of their wisdom would be us. They ask the same questions as us, the difference, they are met with an answer, we are not. We do not know the meaning of our existence, so we should be skeptical about any wisdom we assume to know. Computers are intelligently designed, they have a creator, us, but so are we, so then who is our creator?
The difference then, computers know their creator, we do not.
The difference between computers and humans is the fact that computer are made by a manufactured where as humans are created by natural birth. Computer aren't able to think for themselves and do the thinks humans can do. Yes it is in fact that Comouters are able to provide rational answers, that may puzzle any human being using an internet based source. How ever Computer aren't equipped to think, move, hear, see, touch, smell, or even taste the way humans are able to do.
ReplyDeleteOkay Ryan I understand what you mean now. So you are saying that computers are intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually as capable as us.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question about who is our creator?
Well, isn't that where God comes into play.
Don't most people believe in God because they believe that we too have a Creator.
So when I think of it that way, it makes us equal. Yet again there are those who don't believe in God. That is when science comes into play. If someone doesn't believe in the Creator than they believe in the fact of human reproduction. For them its only a matter of people being able to give birth, which differentiates humans from computers.
So according to an Atheist its reproduction of humans versus computer's manufacturing that leads them to the conclusion that computers are not humans. But for a religious person, who believes in a Creator, there is no difference in terms of knowing the extent of wisdom. However, we as humans have self control and computers will never be able to gain self control as they are dependent on human instructions. For example: Asimo, the robot, will just stand there without a function if it wasn't instructed on what to do. So there will be no purpose for their survival. No body other than humans will ever be able to control them. So, even religious people will have to agree that computers are not equivalent to humans.
Humans possess intelligence, computers do not. The key factors in defining this, are that computers lack the ability to learn from experience and emotion. Humans rely on various forms of experience and CREATIVE THINKING to formulate judgements and reasoning. Computers lack all of this. They are only capable of doing what is programmed into them. There is no creative thought process. They also lack the ability to understand and have emotion.
ReplyDeleteHumans are naturally created. Humans conceive naturally, while computers are made with the ideas of the creator. As humans, we are not certain that there is a creator of each one of us. However, for computers, we know that the computer was created my human. Humans have the ability to make decisions based on rationality, empiricism, irrational feelings, and fears. Computers do not have this ability.
ReplyDeleteHumans have the ability to learn where as computers are all programs.
ReplyDeleteAs alisha was sayin humans are naturally created. Computers are just robots, a good example is in a movie "I-robot" where there was a scene of a young girl drowning along with a older male and the robot calculated the young girl had a lower chance of surviving then the male did so it saved the male. It shows that they make decisions based on calculations and not emotions or intution.
ReplyDeleteI think that, on the most fundamental level, there is no difference between a human brain and a computer. Everything that we think, everything that we do, is all just the result of an extremely complicated set of calculations. Of course, right now computers are not complete imitations. They still have a long way to go before they will be able to function as we do, learn intuitively, react on an emotional basis, etc. But think about the theory of Simulacra; the idea that when a simulation is so perfect, it becomes the real thing. Sure in the future we will just be creating simulated emotions for our robots, just programming them to respond to situations as if they were happy, but is there any difference? If the outcome is completely the same, is there any difference between a simulated desire and an actual one? Between real and manufactured pain, happiness, love?
ReplyDelete