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    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    The objection that digital machines are deterministic whi... — Carmelics
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    Perspectives
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    Home/Consciousness & Mind
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    The objection that digital machines are deterministic while humans are not does not establish a relevant difference between humans and digital machines, even in a non-deterministic world.

    Free Will & Foreknowledge
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    2 reasons for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
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    • 1.Quantum indeterminacy, even if present in neural processes, does not straightforwardly generate the kind of rational agency or consciousness that critics claim digital machines lack.
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    • 2.Penrose and Hameroff's quantum-consciousness thesis remains empirically contested, meaning non-determinism cannot be reliably assigned explanatory primacy for human distinctiveness.
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    • 3.A digital machine with access to a hardware random-number generator exploiting quantum noise satisfies any operational indeterminacy requirement that human neurons could plausibly satisfy.
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    Reason for 2 of 2
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    • 1.Turing's functionalist framework entails that cognitive equivalence is determined by input-output behavior, not by the causal substrate producing that behavior.
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    • 2.If determinism were behaviorally undetectable in humans—as compatibilists like Dennett argue it is—then it cannot serve as a criterion for distinguishing machine from human cognition.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
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    • 1.If the world is non-deterministic, digital machines can be programmed to behave non-deterministically by allowing them to access input from non-deterministic features of the world.
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    • 2.Therefore, the deterministic nature of digital machine operations is not an intrinsic or necessary feature that distinguishes them from humans in a non-deterministic world.
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    Topics

    Consciousness & MindFree Will & Foreknowledge

    Key Terms

    Digital machines(contrasted with humans in the argument)
    Computers and electronic devices that process information using binary code (1s and 0s) and follow logical instructions.
    Non-deterministic world(hypothetical scenario where humans might have freedom machines don't)
    A reality where some events happen randomly or are not completely determined by what came before—where genuine chance or free will could exist.
    deterministic(describing the nature of the empirical world)
    Operating under the principle that every event is caused by prior events in an unbreakable chain, leaving no room for genuine freedom or choice.
    objection(as a scientific critique)
    A logical problem or reason why something might not work or be true. Einstein found what he thought was a flaw in Weyl's theory.
    relevant difference(Used in the second premise of the Manipulation argument to assess whether manipulated and ordinary deterministic agents are morally equivalent)
    A historical or causal fact that would justify treating two cases differently with respect to freedom and moral responsibility.

    Related

    A digital machine with access to a hardware random-number generator exploiting q...If determinism were behaviorally undetectable in humans—as compatibilists like D...If the world is non-deterministic, digital machines can be programmed to behave ...Penrose and Hameroff's quantum-consciousness thesis remains empirically conteste...
    +3 moreShow less
    Quantum indeterminacy, even if present in neural processes, does not straightfor...

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: turing-test
    View source passageHide passage
    Suppose, first, that we focus on the question of whether there are sets of rules that describe what a person and a machine “will” do in every possible set of circumstances. If the world is deterministic, then there are such rules for both persons and machines (though perhaps it is not possible to write down the rules). If the world is not deterministic, then there are no such rules for either persons or machines (since both persons and machines can be subject to non-deterministic processes in th
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Therefore, the deterministic nature of digital machine operations is not an intr...
    Turing's functionalist framework entails that cognitive equivalence is determine...

    Similar

    Therefore, the deterministic nature of digital machine operations is n...91%The argument that people are not machines fails to establish an obviou...86%If the world is non-deterministic, digital machines can be programmed ...85%If the world is not deterministic, then there are no such sets of rule...84%
    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (2 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit