Path: utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!scs!spl1!laidbak!att!pacbell!lll-tis!oodis01!uplherc!sp7040!obie!wsccs!rargyle
From: rargyle@wsccs.UUCP (Bob Argyle)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Free Will & Self Awareness
Message-ID: <558@wsccs.UUCP>
Date: 28 May 88 20:58:32 GMT
Article-I.D.: wsccs.558
References: <770@onion.cs.reading.ac.uk> <1177@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu> <5323@xanth.cs.odu.edu>
Distribution: comp
Lines: 27
Summary: AI a place to test the freewill doctrine

In article <5323@xanth.cs.odu.edu>, wet@xanth.cs.odu.edu (Warren E. Taylor) writes:
[stuff deleted]
> Adults understand what a child needs. A child, on his own, would quickly kill
> himself. 
...
> Flame away.
>    Warren.

so stop interferring with that child's free will!  [W.C.Fields] :-)

We genetically are programmed to protect that child (it may be a
relative...); not so programmed however for protecting any
computers running an AI program.  AI seems the perfect place to test the
freewill doctrine without the observer interferring with the 'experiment.'
At least one contributor to the discussion has called for an end to AI
because of the effects on impressionable undergraduates being told that
there isn't any free will.  

Send Columbus out and if he falls off the edge, so much the better.
IF we get some data on what 'free will' actually is out of AI, then let
us discuss what it means.  It seems we either have free will or we
don't; finding out seems indicated after is it 3000 years of talk.vague.
So is the sun orbitting around the earth?  this impressionable
undergraduate wants to see some hard data.

Bob @ WSCCS