= 27d567bc2d48d9f40e9ccc20ea370b15)
TheAncientGeek comments on Confused as to usefulness of 'consciousness' as a concept - LessWrong
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
= 783df68a0f980790206b9ea87794c5b6)
Loading…= b715d02e85f7b3b4ae65ca3d3e450868)
Subscribe to RSS Feed
Powered by Reddit
= f037147d6e6c911a85753b9abdedda8d)
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
Comments (229)
Ok, so let's say I put two different systems in front of you, and I tell you that system A is conscious whereas system B is not. Based on this knowledge, can you make any meaningful predictions about the differences in behavior between the two systems ? As far as I can tell, the answer is "no". Here are some possible differences that people have proposed over the years:
Perhaps system A would be a much better conversation partner than system B. But no, System B could just be really good at pretending that it's conscious, without exhibiting any true consciousness at all.
System A will perform better at a variety of cognitive tasks. But no, that's intelligence, not consciousness, and in fact system B might be a lot smarter than A.
System A deserves moral consideration, whereas system B is just a tool. Ok, but I asked you for a prediction, not a prescription.
It is quite possible that I'm missing something; but if I'm not, then consciousness is an empty concept, since it has no effect on anything we can actually observe.
Is it possible to fake introspection without having introspection?
As far as I understand, at least some philosophers would say "yes", although admittedly I'm not sure why.
Additionally, in this specific case, it might be possible to fake introspection of something other than one's own system. After all, System B just needs to fool the observer into thinking that it's conscious at all, not that it's conscious about anything specific. Insofar as that makes any sense...
Functional equivalence.
I'm not sure what you mean; can you elaborate ?
A functional equivlent of a person would make the same reports, including apparently introspective ones. However,they would not have the same truth values. They might report that they area real person, not a simulation. So a a lot depends on whether introspection unintended as a success word.