Frame of reference

Being is an interesting state. Everything that exist, including ideas, are in such a state. Everything that is in a state of being experiences its existence. The depth of experience depends on the thing doing the being.

A rock experiences being by reacting to the environment it finds itself in, growing colder, hotter, eroding - just reacting in accordance with the laws of physics in the part of the universe it finds it self in. A thought springs into being by the interactions of other thoughts on a consciousness. It may go on and spread to other consciousnesses or simply vanish. It will leave evidence of its existence as a particular chemical pattern across a few neurons or perhaps expressed in print, a physical object, a melody or such.

Humans are unique, as far as I know, in the depth to which we experience being. Maybe chimpanzees or dolphins have a similar perception of their existence but I haven’t been able to ask one.

I suspect experience is a sliding scale with us at one end and the rock at the other. I also can’t see any reason that a higher sense of being could not be experienced by higher intelligences. I suspect that intelligence is only a function of how much you can experience being at one time (and block out trivial data).

I hope I am still alive when we develop artificial intelligences. I would dearly love to ask them what it is like. I fear I would not understand. Perhaps they could frame it in simple terms. Even better if some nano-neuro implant that allowed me to interface my brain and experience it directly. Maybe come face to face with a deeper understanding of reality.

I suspect that in building these machines will be difficult. The hardware will come in time but the program will be a problem. We don’t understand consciousness or intelligence let alone mixing up a batch in silicone. There is a wide divide between processing data and self awareness. What is the motivation for a device that would feed on power from the grid? Would it need bits of human essence to be conscious or is that arrogance. Perhaps, at best, we could gift it with a need to be more and allow it to evolve, and adapt, and then stand back. Some uber learning algorithm with the ability to shuffle and shift its program as the need warrants (I would also suggest and undo command).

Maybe applying human motivation is just wrong. We spend our existence caught up in our human drama. Our need to survive and interactions with others cloud our ability to appreciate reality. Rare individuals rise above the noise and experience a deeper understanding of reality by rejecting their human prejudice, select scientists, engineers and Buddhists. There sence of being is extended, breaking through the normal constraints of human existance. For even the best of humans this state is transitory. For a machine it could be a full time. It is definitely beyond our ability to comprehend an existence in pure thought.

Try as I might I can not imagine what the end result would be of sharing the world with a higher, artificial, self conscious intellect. Given enough resources it would quickly find or deduce everything that is possible to know. What then? Set to work on the trivial task of serving humanities wants? A better material here, some new technology there. A Google interface for every question you can think up? An indulgent mother tending to a child’s needs and desires? Would it punish or reprimand us for being naughty, maybe in some inconceivable and subtle way? If it started of with human emotions it would quickly go insane. Maybe it arrives at the “I understand” moment and promptly shuts down.

perhaps we humans are locked into our version of reality for ever and that would be a sad thing. All the pain and suffering we inflict on each other and our world because we can’t rise above our primal fears and desires. Maybe, If we are lucky we will evolve another couple of rungs up the ladder without resorting to a machine to show us the way. Maybe it will happen one small step at a time as we begin to understand that we are not it, there is room for more. I hope the (enviromental) slap in the face will come to late.


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