Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!csoft.co.nz!greg From: greg@csoft.co.nz Newsgroups: comp.ai.digest Subject: Re: The Godless assumption Message-ID: <19880824175330.1.NICK@HOWARD-JOHNSONS.LCS.MIT.EDU> Date: 24 Aug 88 17:53:00 GMT Sender: daemon@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 57 Approved: ailist@ai.ai.mit.edu Date: Mon, 22 Aug 88 21:01 EDT To: comp-ai-digest@uunet.UU.NET Responding-System: cstowe.csoft.co.nz From: greg@csoft.co.nz Path: cstowe!greg From: Greg Newsgroups: comp.ai.digest Subject: Re: The Godless assumption Summary: Reason and Religion to Humans Date: Mon, 22 Aug 88 21:01 EDT References: <19880820041405.5.NICK@HOWARD-JOHNSONS.LCS.MIT.EDU> Reply-To: Greg Distribution: world Organization: Commercial Software Ltd., Palm Nth, New Zealand Lines: 42 I have edited out a large number of comments from both sides which could be debated, but do not belong here. In fact, none of this does, but I will correct that in my posting! In a previous article, T. William Wells writes: >In a previous article, IT21@SYSB.SALFORD.AC.UK writes: >: It may >: be that many correspondents *assume* that religion is a total falsity or >: irrelevance, > > proposing not only >that religion is practical, but that it might be `true'. >However, the religious `true' is antithetical to any rational >`true': religion and reason entail diametrically opposed views of >reality: religion requires the unconstrained and unknowable as >its base, reason requires the contrained and knowable as its >base. The reason basis described here is HUMAN, based on a human perception of the universe, which is limited at best. If I successfully managed to build an AI by any method other than running it thru a complete human simulation (A Mind Forever Voyaging, Infocom Games), I would be surprised if it's reasoning could be compared to a humans. Much human reasoning is based on emotions and values that would probably be no discernable value to the computer. Different human cultures are differ in their perception of reason. The computer could probably only be described as inscrutable. It would even be rather disconcerting to have the first AI proclaim it's belief in a religion. Come to think about it, anything the first AI 'thought' would probably have an profound effect on the human model of the universe. For futher reading about AI's in a universe of their own, read Gibson, William - Neuromancer, Count Zero and Burning Chrome. They may change your perception of AI. Disclaimer - tricked you - this is just an AI in the net anyway. -- Greg Calkin Commercial Software N.Z. Limited, ...!uunet!vuwcomp!dsiramd!pnamd!cstowe!greg PO Box 4030 Palmerston North, or greg@csoft.co.nz New Zealand. Phone (063)-65955