pedanterrific comments on AI Challenge: Ants - Less Wrong

17 Post author: lavalamp 03 November 2011 03:31PM

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Comment author: pedanterrific 05 November 2011 06:50:09AM *  2 points [-]

'Simultaneity' is easy to achieve when the environment changes in discrete intervals with time to think in between.

Edit: What lessdazed said.

Comment author: Logos01 05 November 2011 07:10:14AM 0 points [-]

'Simultaneity' is easy to achieve when the environment changes in discrete intervals with time to think in between.

The appearance of "simultaneity", sure. But that's a manifestation of the difference between real-time and turn-based 'games', and not a characteristic of cognition that is meaningfully significant. (At least, not so far as I can tell.)

Comment author: pedanterrific 05 November 2011 07:43:21AM 0 points [-]

I'd say the implication that it's only actually possible to act as a "unified mind" in certain highly artificial non-realtime circumstances is pretty significant.

Comment author: Logos01 05 November 2011 07:59:07AM *  -1 points [-]

But if I am correct that it is only the appearance of acting as a "unified mind", then... there's no real significance there, as it again is simply a characteristic of the medium rather than of the function. In other words, this "unification" is only present in a turn-based game, and only manifests as a result of the fact that turn-based games have 'bots' whose intellect necessarily manifests during the turn.

This, in kind, would "compress" the actual processes of cognition into what would appear to be a "unified/simultaneous" process.

And this is why I say that it is not a characteristic of cognition which is meaningfully significant. It's telling us something about turn-based games -- not about cognition.

Comment author: pedanterrific 05 November 2011 04:44:53PM 0 points [-]

Allow me to slightly rephrase my point: I'd say the implication that it's impossible to act as a "unified mind" in realtime is pretty significant.