Re: What is Intelligence?
Robin Hanson (hanson@hss.caltech.edu)
Wed, 9 Oct 96 12:27:06 PDT
Dan Clemmensen writes:
> >1) Assumption: the compuer component contributes non-trivially to the
> > intelligence of the entity, once the entity comes into existance
>
>My argument starts with assumption (1) above. That's why its the
>first assumption. The effect will kick in when the very first
>human/computer joint entity (or other entity with a computer as
>a substantial contributor to its intelligence) comes into
>existence. It will then get more intelligent as a result of increases
>in the capabilities of its computer part. So far, no feedback is
>involved. Then it will get rapidly more intelligent as it uses this
>intelligence to better use its computer part. The major difference
>here is that the computer will contribute directly to the intelligence
>of the entity. I claim that this is different in kind than the
>contributions to intelligence of the other technologies you cite.
I really have no idea what you mean by a more intelligent
"human/computer joint entity", if you deny that computers now
contribute to human intelligence in the way you have in mind, if you
also deny that a larger group of people with more access to knowledge
is effectively more intelligent in your way, and if uploading (mere
porting of human software to faster hardware) doesn't count.
Robin D. Hanson hanson@hss.caltech.edu http://hss.caltech.edu/~hanson/