discussion

Purpose:

The purpose of this discussion is for you to think critically about epistemological and metaphysical questions and why you think the way that you do and for you to argue for them. It is easy to say what you think, but it is hard to back it up in a debate. This is an extreme case, but working with it makes every-day cases easier.


The Case:

Growing up, you had a near and dear childhood friend, call them Andi Rossum.1 Now, for sleep-overs or slumber-parties, Andi would not eat and the Rossums explained that this is because Andi has a very special diet. You take classes together, play together and Andi is your best friend. In your teens, while getting into shenanigans, Andi cuts themselves and you notice that it's not blood which comes out, but rather a greenish-blue liquid. You recognize it immediately as coolant, like in a car.

It turns out, the Rossums were researchers at a top secret government lab. They fell in love and ended up having a baby, which they named 'Andi'. But this Andi died only a few years old and the parents, distraught, used their accesses to various technologies to build a 'baby'. The brain is a computer and the parts are exchanged to match growth patterns.2

But, does Andi have a mind? Are they conscious? Remember that Andi is a machine.


Tasks:

1. For your initial post, you need to: 1. Think carefully about the above case and then explain

whether you think Andi has a mind, are they conscious,

do they feel, etc. Going outside of the case for a moment, all of your real evidence your non--robotic friends and family have minds is based on their behavior, which is no different than the evidence you have that Andi has a mind. 


2. Say why you think that. As always with these cases, you should not say merely that this is how you feel, but rather explain why you have that feeling. 


3. Say how you think another student may reply to your stance. Doing these 3 things is worth 10pts.


2. Reply to 2 other students in this class who have opposing views to you or take on the role as the devil's advocate and object to them. And, if possible, avoid replying in the way that they thought someone might reply. Each reply is worth 5pts. Going above and beyond (more than 2 substantive replies) is rewarded with extra credit.


Major Note:

I have seen this several times and it really fails to answer the questions. Many students try to make a distinction between 'having a mind' and 'being conscious'. This is a distinction without a relevant difference. In order to be conscious, a thing must have a mind and if a thing has a mind, then they are conscious. Think of the mind as whatever is necessary for consciousness, that is, it is impossible for something to be conscious without having a mind.

To Succeed:

1. Make sure you are clear about your stance, that you do not devolve into name-calling and uncivil behavior.


2. Debate and replies to replies are encouraged as this is practice for real-world debates.

3. Make sure that you have all of the above points in your posts.

4. I will comment replies if the post is very off-the-mark in the interpretation of the case, if it is unduly inflammatory, or otherwise not appropriate.

For a real world case where people have been fooled by clever AI programs, check out the following links:

 (Links to an external site.) AI Teaching Assistant Jill Watson

 (Links to an external site.) 


Ted Talk

 (Links to an external site.) For fictional examples of trying to determine whether some android has a mind, I recommend the following:

Star Trek The Next Generation, Season 2 Episode 9, The Measure of a Man.

Star Trek The Next Generation, Season 6 Episode 9, The Quality of Life.

Footnote(s):

1 The name 'Rossum' is in reference to the play Rossum's Universal Robots, by Karel Capek which is the first use of the word 'robot' in English. It comes from the Czeck word 'robotnik', meaning 'forced worker', as in a slave or serf. 2 A quick note, a computer can learn, the basic level way that this is done is described in the module concerning AI.