X-Message-Number: 441
From: att!fernwood.mpk.ca.us!alc!lovejoy Wed Sep 11 19:28:33 PDT 1991
To: fernwood!att.att.com!whscad1!
Subject: Re: Consciousness

Since none of Searle's neurons are conscious or know english, it follows by
his own argument that he is not conscious and does not know english.

Consider the following question: is the information recorded on a videotape
by a video camera symbolically encoded?  If so, then the information in
neurons (synapses, brain cell membranes, etc.) is also symbolic.  All of it.

I agree that the "information-theoretic" approach taken so far by "AI" 
researchers is way off course--but not because it relies on symbolic 
computation.  The problem is that the semantic level is far too high.
Neurons don't deal in high level concepts for which human languages have
words.  Their semantic space is far, far more primitive.

Human consciousness and intelligence are functions of complex, hierarchically
organized neural networks of billions of neurons.  Attempting to model or
simulate such a system using a machine to evaluate words and sentences is
like trying to predict the weather using gross measurements of temperature,
humidity and barometric pressure.  Such abstractions are too coarse by orders
of magnitude to be really effective.  Words and sentences no more cause
intelligence and consciousness than clouds cause weather.  These things are
effects, not causes.

--alan

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