Re: Protean Self-Transformation

Gregory Houston (vertigo@triberian.com)
Sat, 29 Mar 1997 15:38:19 -0600


Mark Grant wrote:

> Uh, this seems silly. You don't need to 'give a computer feelings and
> emotions'. If (and that's a large if) our brains are simply sophisticated
> computers, then you already are a computer program and you are already
> programmed for those feelings and emotions

You cannot simply program emotions if the hardware cannot experience
them. My body including my brain can experience emotions. Computers, as
of yet, cannot experience emotions, and this is not so much a software
problem as it is a hardware problem. Thus, to further articulate my
statement:

Until there becomes an interest in developing the necessary "hardware"
to enable computers to experience feelings and emotions [felt
sensations] then uploading will remain somewhat of a ludic concept to
me. Once I am uploaded in a computer, if I cannot experience
emotions/feelings, then there really isn't any reason for me to continue
existing.

You can program to your hearts content for a thousand millinium, but if
you don't create the proper hardware or peripheals, computers will never
be able to experience emotions. It is extremely naive to think that you
can simply program emotions, as if some scientist could suddenly program
his Pentium 200 to enjoy data-processing.

Without emotions there is no happiness, appreciation, joy, thrill,
ectsasy, exhileration, sadness, adventure, etcetera. Without emotion
there is no reason for me to exist.

Explore and play!

-- 
Gregory Houston                 Triberian Institute of Emotive Education
vertigo@triberian.com           http://www.triberian.com 
phone:    816.561.1524          info@triberian.com
cellular: 816.807.6660          snail: PO Box 32046 Kansas City MO 64171

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