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Article 5092 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: shrdlu@willow.sdd.trw.com (Lynda L. True)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: SHRDLU's mind
Message-ID: <29E0B345.48E4@deneva.sdd.trw.com>
Date: 6 Apr 92 20:23:30 GMT
References: <1992Apr5.210553.11966@psych.toronto.edu> <1992Apr6.023638.518@organpipe.uug.arizona.edu> <1992Apr6.182533.109@psych.toronto.edu>
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In article <1992Apr6.182533.109@psych.toronto.edu> christo@psych.toronto.edu (Christopher Green) writes:
>In article <1992Apr6.023638.518@organpipe.uug.arizona.edu> bill@NSMA.AriZonA.EdU (Bill Skaggs) writes:
>>Kristoffer Eriksson:
>>>Surely, no-one has suggested that SHRDLU is advanced enough to have
>>>a mind?

What? Of course I have a mind.

>>Christopher Green:
>>>Under strong AI, one would be committed to such a view. Surely, if
>>>McCarthy believes is thermostat has beliefs, he believes that
>>>SHRDLU does. Same goes for any other thorough-going functionalists.
>>>Right Dave...? 

>>  I think I'm a backer of strong AI, but I don't believe that
>>mind is an all-or-nothing concept.  Minds come in varying degrees
>>of sophistication.

Absolutely. You are all just a pack of blocks.

>Varying degrees of sophistication have no bearing on the question of
>presence or absense.  A small mind is still a mind, just as a small ball
>is still a ball.

That's right. My mind may be small, but it's adequate for the purposes
of playing with my blocks.

>>The essential ingredients are a picture of
>>the world, the ability to use it to accomplish goals, and some
>>ability to communicate.  

[Interesting argument concerning an unnamed robot deleted.}

>>SHRDLU has all of these things (though
>>its picture is actually of an "imagined" world), so I see no
>>reason not to grant it a mind, albeit a primitive one.

Thank you.

>And for the reasons I give above (in part) I deny it a mind.

I think (about small things, but nonetheless, I think), therefore I
post.

Shrdlu
-- 
shrdlu@rowan.sdd.trw.com (Lynda L. True)
Work Phone - (310) 812-1660 or (310) 812-1570
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