Re: Re[2]: computer-go: Pattern matching

[Daniel Hallmark <dgh@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, 11 Nov 1999 rbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> However, I _know_ what a rose smells like.  I _know_ when I am hungry.  If you
> can prove to me that such knowledge, stored in my brain, may be emulated by a 
> computer, I will agree with your assertion.  Until then, I will continue to
> believe that there _is_ an inherent difference between the human brain and a
> computer system.  That inherent difference _does_ prevent the knowledge of 
> what a rose smells like, or the knowledge of what it is to be hungry, 
> from being stored in a computer.


I would argue that what you mean by "knowing what a rose smells like" is 
simply that your brain is capable of matching an electrochemical signature
created when the chemicals composing a rose's aroma react with your olfactory
organs.  Granted, re-creating the sophisticated sensory capability of the
human nose via a qualitative and quantitative chemical analysis device might
very well be an impossible task.  But should such a device exist I don't 
believe that there would be any impediment to classifying the "smell" of 
a rose as a complex combination of aromatic materials, or that a computer
would have any more difficulty identifying such a combination than you do.

As for the hunger part... well inorganic computers certainly don't get
hungry in the same fashion as humans do, but I have a very simple piece
of hardware/firmware that monitors energy flow into my computer and provides
supplemental electricity when that flow is disrupted in order to maintain
normal operating conditions.  Feelings of hunger are a response to 
stimulus -- your body lacks food, your blood sugar level drops, in 
response your brain stimulates certain physical responses which we 
interpret as "being hungry".  I think computers are quite capable
of emulating such stimulus/response systems.  Again, a lack of existence
of the sophisticated biochemical equipment available to our brain which
is used to detect and respond to these stimuli should not be taken to mean
that it is impossible to represent this information in an electronic fashion.

I think that rather than these examples, possibly your real point of 
contention is that the human brain offers us a degree of self-awareness 
which I agree is not something the world of AI has yet achieved.

Daniel