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RichardKennaway comments on The Blue-Minimizing Robot - Less Wrong
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I don't think it's saying anything too shocking to admit this is all a metaphor for people; I'm going to be pushing the view that people's thoughts and words are a byproduct of the processes that determine behavior rather than directly controlling them. I anticipate providing at least a partial answer to your question in about two weeks; if that doesn't satisfy you, let me know and we can talk about it then.
One that presents consciousness as an epiphenomenon. In the version of the robot that has human intelligence, you describe it as bolted on, experiencing the robot's actions but having no causal influence on them, an impotent spectator.
Are your projected postings going to justify this hypothesis?
I hope so. Let's see.
My first thought was that this was pointing towards an epiphenomenal view of consciousness. But I think it's actually something more radical and more testable. Yvain, check me if I get this wrong, but I think you're saying that "our conscious verbal acts -- both internally and externally directed -- do not primarily cause our actions."
Here is an experiment to test this: have people perform some verbal act repeatedly, and see if it shifts their actions. This happens to be a well known motivational and behavior-alteration technique, beloved of football teams, political campaigns, governments, and religions, among other organizations. My impression is that it works to a point, but not consistently. Has anybody done a test of how catechisms, chants, and the like shape behavior?
I hope that he explicitly deals with this. By the way, I didn't know the actual definition of epiphenomenon, which is " is a secondary phenomenon that occurs alongside or in parallel to a primary phenomenon".