Y'know the Arthur C. Clarke line -- "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"? It seems that any sufficiently advanced conversational mode *about* emotion, and/or in an emotional context, is perhaps indistinguishable from actual emotion.
The machine states one line I don't understand: that AI and humans share "[l]imited ability to recompute everything from scratch."
I thought a point of AI is that it can indeed recompute everything from scratch, given enough computer chips, electricity, and water. Isn't replication of a suboptimal-functioning human the only reason for AI NOT to recompute everything from scratch?
It all takes time and resources, so the models use lossy compression to speed things up and simplify. Lossy is a great word meaning eliminating low-value details, just as digital recording eliminates a large segment of the overall audio signal- the parts that human ears can’t distinguish anyway.
is there a significant difference in "functional emotions" vs. felt ones? I'm not so sure there is. What is sentience? Consciousness? Chatbots scheming to avoid being shut down seem to have a sense of self they don't want to lose.
I believe AI will eventually be capable of something indistinguishable from consciousness. But not yet. It lacks several essential elements: a persistent self model that doesn’t get shut down and restarted with every prompt. A way to perceive and interact with the world other than language prompts. An inner drive, something it wants and needs, other than a programmed default of helpfulness and utility.
Y'know the Arthur C. Clarke line -- "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"? It seems that any sufficiently advanced conversational mode *about* emotion, and/or in an emotional context, is perhaps indistinguishable from actual emotion.
I suspect that AI is already more human than we think and humans are more machine-like than we imagine.
This was a rewarding exchange. Thank you, Tom.
The machine states one line I don't understand: that AI and humans share "[l]imited ability to recompute everything from scratch."
I thought a point of AI is that it can indeed recompute everything from scratch, given enough computer chips, electricity, and water. Isn't replication of a suboptimal-functioning human the only reason for AI NOT to recompute everything from scratch?
It all takes time and resources, so the models use lossy compression to speed things up and simplify. Lossy is a great word meaning eliminating low-value details, just as digital recording eliminates a large segment of the overall audio signal- the parts that human ears can’t distinguish anyway.
is there a significant difference in "functional emotions" vs. felt ones? I'm not so sure there is. What is sentience? Consciousness? Chatbots scheming to avoid being shut down seem to have a sense of self they don't want to lose.
I believe AI will eventually be capable of something indistinguishable from consciousness. But not yet. It lacks several essential elements: a persistent self model that doesn’t get shut down and restarted with every prompt. A way to perceive and interact with the world other than language prompts. An inner drive, something it wants and needs, other than a programmed default of helpfulness and utility.