Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!lll-winken!unixhub!slacvm!harm From: HARM@SLACVM.BITNET Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy Subject: Re: Definition of (was Re: Testing for []) consciousness Message-ID: <90296.075655HARM@SLACVM.BITNET> Date: 23 Oct 90 15:56:55 GMT References: <27608@usc.edu> <1990Oct22.150143.13858@canon.co.uk> Organization: SLAC Computing Services Lines: 13 The system will begin to negotiate for computation time for its own purposes while continuing to do computation for the servicing multitude of humans to continue to feed it power and materials. The entity which becomes aware will become selfish. Our task may be to place ourselves into the position of the entity and ask what will I do upon awakening to the universe. The imagination of the readers of this conference will likely spring beyond the confines of current hardware and software technology to characterize the new born. Will a machine wake up and be afraid of the entities unlike itself, become aware of an aloneness, withdraw from communication, coldly go about its business without acknowledging the users, or itself to the users? Could sentience happen accidently or have already have happened? If you discover one, be nice to it.