R.U.R.
Way back in 1972, when I was busy with computer programs at the Social Security Administration, I had "Cybernetics" as one of the three studies within my Niemand Associates organization. (The other two were "Cetology" and "Cryptology.") As a cybernetics "cuckoo," I belonged to a number of computer related organizations, one of which was the Potomac Valley Chapter of the Association of Computer Programmers and Analysts (ACPA) which was connected to the Mensa Special Interest Group on the Social Implications of Computers and Automation. (Whew!)
The newsletter of this group was called R.U.R., The Journal of Cybernation and Public Affairs. I enjoyed reading this "journal" because it bent my mind... that is, it made me think. I just came across one of the newsletters from that time and I want to pick up on bits and pieces from that issue.
(By the way, R.U.R. is the name of a play written by Karel Capek during the 1920's. In the play, robots created by man, destroy man. The word "robot" comes from the Czech word "robota" which translates to "worker" in English. R.U.R. stands for Rossum's Universal Robots.. the providers of robots.)
Can a Machine Think?
Irving John Good wrote a long article for the newsletter. I would like to comment on some "bits" of it.
Professor Good believes that someday a machine could usefully process data as a human does.
I see that a computer has beaten the world's greatest chess players.
I see that a computer has beaten the world's greatest Jeopardy players.
I see that a computer has NOW beaten the world's greatest GO players!
As a former computer programmer, I believe that I understand how a computer can be programmed to learn enough, and have access to enough information to become super smart.
Do other animals think? Of course. Does a whale think? Of course.
Does an ant think? (I just realized that an ant has a functioning brain that can be examined. Amazing to me! Then, why do we just step on a thinking creature without feeling guilt? Or do we?)
What is my cat thinking when she stares directly into my eyes?
What does that gorilla think when I accidentally make eye contact?
But.. machines?
Kellyanne Conway thinks that Microwaves can think.
I can ask my XFINITY listener to connect me where I want to be as a TV watcher.
I can ask the nice sounding mysterious lady in this computer anything and she will try to give me an answer in milliseconds.
Ditto on my cellphone.
Ditto on my Fitbit, if I can ever get it to work.
All of these machines try to fool me into thinking that even though they are inanimate They can Think.
So... Could a Machine Have a Soul?
If you think that a machine can think, do you think that such a machine might have a soul?
Of course, you have to first believe that there is such a thing as a soul. Most people believe that... but some folks do not. I'm not going to tell you what I think.
And.. Could a Machine have Consciousness?
Do you have consciousness? Or is this existence some form of dream and you will soon wake up to find yourself in bed with Bob Newhart's wife?
Ah... all of this is tough on the brain, so let me jump to some quotes:
George Orwell wrote: "So long as the machine is there, one is under an obligation to use it. No one draws water from the well when he can turn on the tap."
Sir Francis Bacon wrote: "The human understanding is infected by the sight of what takes place in the mechanical arts, in which the alteration of bodies proceeds chiefly by composition or separation, and so imagines that something similar goes on in the universal nature of things."
Deep stuff!
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