• yeahiknow3@lemmings.world
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    1 month ago

    we’re talking about something where nobody can tell the difference, not where it’s difficult.

    You’re missing the point. The existence of black holes was predicted long before anyone had any idea how to identify them. For many years, it was impossible. Does that mean black holes don’t matter? That we shouldn’t have contemplated their existence?

    Seriously though, I’m out.

    • Communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz
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      1 month ago

      The existence of black holes has a functional purpose in physics, the existence of consciousness only has one to our subjective experience, and not one to our capabilities.

      if I’m wrong list a task that a conscious being can do that an unconscious one is unable to accomplish.

      • yeahiknow3@lemmings.world
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        1 month ago

        if I’m wrong list a task that a conscious being can do that an unconscious one is unable to accomplish.

        These have been listed repeatedly: love, think, understand, contemplate, discover, aspire, lead, philosophize, etc.

        There are, in fact, very few interesting or important things that a non-thinking entity can do. It can make toast. It can do calculations. It can design highways. It can cure cancer. It can probably fold clothes. None of this shit is particularly exciting. Just more machines doing what they’re told. We want a machine that can tell us what to do, instead. That’s AGI. We don’t know how to build such a machine, at least given our current understanding of mathematical logic, theoretical computer science, and human cognition.