Artificial Forms of Life
Philosophies October 27, 2023 DOI: 10.3390/philosophies8050089 (opens in new tab) via DOAJ
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThe logical problem of 'strong' AI—whether artificial intelligence can be genuinely intelligent and conscious—reduces to whether an artificial form of life is possible, which is paradoxical because it asks whether an unnatural form of nature is possible. The paper argues that machines can share the human form of life and thereby acquire human mindedness, including intelligence, consciousness, and sentience, in the same way a human being typically does.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Artificial intelligence Artificial general intelligence Human–machine interaction Machine consciousness Turing test |
| Key finding | Argues that machines can share the human form of life and thus acquire human-like mindedness, making strong AI possible without contradiction. |
Abstract
The logical problem of artificial intelligence—the question of whether the notion sometimes referred to as ‘strong’ AI is self-contradictory—is, essentially, the question of whether an artificial form of life is possible. This question has an immediately paradoxical character, which can be made explicit if we recast it (in terms that would ordinarily seem to be implied by it) as the question of whether an unnatural form of nature is possible. The present paper seeks to explain this paradoxical kind of possibility by arguing that machines can share the human form of life and thus acquire human mindedness, which is to say they can be intelligent, conscious, sentient, etc. in precisely the way that a human being typically is.