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From: greenw@west44.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.ai
Subject: Human models
Message-ID: <243@west44.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 22-Jun-84 09:44:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: west44.243
Posted: Fri Jun 22 09:44:56 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 19-Jun-84 01:15:07 EDT
Organization: CS Dept., Westfield College, London
Lines: 54




[The time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many things...]

	Consider...
	With present computer technology, it is possible to build
 (simple) molecular models, and get the machine to emulate exactly
 what the atoms in the `real` molecule will do in any situation.

	Consider also...
	Software and hardware are getting more powerful; larger models
can be built all the time.

[...Of shoes and Ships...]

	One day someone may be able to build a model will be an exact
duplicate of a human brain.
	Since it will be perfect down to the last atom, it will also be
able to act just like a human brain.
	i.e. It will be capable of thought.

[...And Sealing Wax...]

	Would such an entity be considered `human`, for, though it would
not be `alive` in the biological sense, someone talking on the telephone
to its very sophisticated speech synthesiser, or reading a letter typed from
it would consider it to be a perfectly normal, if not rather intelligent
person.
	Hmmmmmm.

	One last thought...
	Even if all the correct education could be given it, might it still
suffer from the HAL9000 syndrome [2001]; fear of being turned off if it
did something wrong?


[...of Cabbages and Kings.]

Jules Greenwall,
Westfield College, London, England.

from...

     vax135            greenw            (UNIX)
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   mcvax- !ukc!west44!
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     hou3b             westf!greenw      (PR1ME)


The MCP is watching you...
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