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From: B.Barnes@dcs.warwick.ac.uk (Benjohn Barnes)
Subject: Re: [Q] Robotic 'ants' for Pest control...
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Date: Tue, 15 Nov 1994 15:51:01 GMT
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Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.ai.alife:1299 comp.ai.genetic:4282

thantos@runic.mind.org (Alexander Williams) writes:

>In article <Cz2F6G.AFL@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca>,
>Mark W. Tilden <mwtilden@math.uwaterloo.ca> wrote:
>>You've gotta build robots, otherwise how can you ever *know*.

>I suppose that depends on how much  old-style metaphysics you're still
>clinging to, does it not?  Under the same assumption, you have to wire
>your rolife with the /same/ hearing, smell, sight, /touch/, et al as a
>human possesses (as the only kind of  sentient you recognize) and make
>sure it has  access to manipulate  the  physical world in exactly  the
>same  way.    Otherwise,   you're   going to   develop   some kind  of
>alien/differently-evolved sentience, if you do attain sentience, which
>you  may not recognize  because it  reacts  to different input than  a
>sentience you recognize.

I agree with both of you (I think) but do you need a compex environment for a
really sentient entity (great word) to develop in? Maybe such an environment
would be dificult to simulate on a computer.

Benjohn
