Recent Comments

On the physician only website (Docs Lounge) that I am active on, I have tried to argue that the truth needs to come out, and the drastic increase in cases cannot be explained away by blaming "increased awareness" and "changes in diagnostic criteria". But most of the other docs still believe this, and hate RFK Jr, and his efforts to get to the real cause. Of course, they are also very pro Covid vaccine. Like sheep, they follow, and do what they are told.

Be sure I get the date. nb

Favs ........ Mexit, and you have multiple food sensitivities? May I suggest a taxi. Hilarious! Thank you, OUC!

OUC...you've done it again. The best. I enjoyed the ones about the mountain thingy the most. nb

The COVID "misinformation" spread by Fauci et al. and their collaborators at social media companies and search engines did their worst to destroy my company, whose goal was to sterilize the mess that they created.

Why? To demonstrate the ability to control the world population, and a side benefit of reducing the world population.

Interesting. I do not.
I was born cross-eyed and knocked everything over. My first surgery was when I was 2.

I do remember a spanking in kindergarten because I corrected a girl in my class who was not playing "properly". When she did it again, I threatened to take my belt off and teach her lesson.

That was the day I learned "Thinking like an adult <> being an adult!". I was simply mirroring what my father would have said/done. To this day, I was NOT WRONG, I was just too young to get away with it. The little girl was disassembling something we were building because she wanted to build something else.

But I do not remember the day I became consciously aware that I had a self. I am sure it came late because my vision was jacked up.

But that's cool. Thanks for sharing!

Why did he do it? Is Fauci a madman that got turned loose? A friend of mine, very intelligent worked at Ft Henry? while Fauci was there and he says Fauci was a nut. nb

I thought I thunk also . . .

All laughing aside: The Day I awakened.
An instance of: "Believe it or not":
I remember the day (at 2 years old) when I became aware of my own self, (I could see myself in the situation I was in) being bathed in the kitchen sink while watching my Dad mow the lawn knowing I just got a plastic mower like my Dad's, (Easter Morning), I wanted nothing more than to mow the lawn right along side him . . . and my mother wouldn't let it happen . . .

Do you remember the day you became aware of self, the day you realized you were having a conversation in your head and realized it WAS your voice?

No. But that day is coming.

Thank You!
Aware that they are aware.

Cogito Cogito, Ergo, Cogito Sum!

I think I think, Therefore I think I am?

LOL

Thanks

I like the phrase.
Animals can learn the push button trick. It only means awareness of one's environment and survival. That does not require self inspection, empathy nor awareness of one's own awareness.
Are they Aware that they are Aware?
And that brings us to the study in Marcel's book that revisits Julian Jaynes's observations. More than half (at the time of writing - way before Trump) of the population showed no empathy, morality, Conscience, what so ever. (yes, many of these creatures reside in our governments) In Reverse, they are unaware that they are unaware. (kind of funny but really not).
Intelligence is another tricky one, as you have pointed out. I would have to say: Intelligence is a matter of not just how much information one holds or is aware of but how one can put it use. Unfortunately, that says nothing of how one integrates that information. Are they a "One trick pony" A master mathematician? but can't tie his own shoes nor make sense any "rights or wrongs".

I say that a good definition of Consciousness/having a Conscience, is Conscious Self Introspection. One knows they are judging their own behavior.

However, Being consciously introspective doesn't mean one will Always be able catch one's self before screwing up . . .
Apparently, there is a gap between the Mind and the physical brain.

I conclude that one is represented by 3 parts of their own total equation: The Brain, The Body and the Mind. Those that are not introspective are comprised of only the Brain and the Body or as I call them: Humanoids.

It's a subject that needs to be discussed but I fear that it will be hogged by those least worthy of having this discussion. There are creatures out there that fail to see the difference between: awareness of environment and not just awareness of self but awareness of that awareness.

Thanks for the conversation.

Interesting. This becomes part of the problem of defining things. Coming up with an agreeable definition of "AI", "Conscious", etc.

Turing tried making it a test you can pass. But clearly you do not accept passing the Turing test.

Being an odd person, myself, I latched on to this phrase:
IQ Without Empathy is Psychopathy!

It was a reminder (don't be evil, LOL), to realize that if I am lacking Empathy, then the higher my IQ the more psychopathic I would become. (ie, it doesn't matter if I think I am ending poverty. KILLING the poor is not an acceptable solution!)

For me, "AI" suffers this risk (as do most liberals, who think if it "Saves 1 life, it's worth it!", but then don't live by those rules, like "stop driving cars, etc. etc." They have ZERO Empathy for the people who will be DIRECTLY impacted, while feigning empathy for those they are "protecting").

BACK to your point. Are you saying that more than HALF of the HUMANS on the planet are NEITHER Intelligent NOR Conscious? Or Just not Conscious?

I believe you are Conscious if you can choose. And provably so if you can alter your next choice based on your last choice. (Push the red button get PAIN, push the blue button get water, push the white button get food). If you adapt to that to push the buttons to get what you want. Are you NOT Conscious?

Respectfully disagree. Even the bicamerals of the old testament could lie, defend, cheat, show signs of awareness of their environments and all the functions you mention but were not aware of their own awareness and did not show signs of introspection.
I am using the definitions and observations of Julian Jaynes and the bicameral mind. (should read: Brain)
Computers, like non introspecting humanoids can imitate like no tomorrow. The are aware enough to know that they are different and must fake it to fit in.
A later study by Marcel Knutson of the Julian Jaynes society found that more than half of our worlds population had not the ability to view and judge self (introspection). That takes a "Mind" to do, the brain, in my observation, cannot view itself.

Not to mention the influence on the stupid.
Look at all the @$$w!pes burning private property, the escapee geriatrics protesting civil law and order and our Constitution.
Not to mention one un-named Seditious Congress Critter, sharing Margaritas with a terrorist gang member with the goal of bringing him back to our neighborhood. Spit

You got me with the bunnies.

I studied AI in the late 80s and early 90s at University. They were just starting to get thick with the energy function math behind neural networks. Way before LLMs, and we did not have the internet to provide NEAR INFINITE training data.

First, there is no "true" definition of intelligence. it's actually quite hard to define what it is that makes someone intelligent. How do you score an Autistic Math Savant with photographic memory, but they can't drive a car, or be trusted working a stove?

Things you have to break-down into pieces to define, an then apply "but not..." to is not a great start.

For me, it qualifies as a form of meta-pattern recognition. Not just the ability to learn to recognize patterns, but to comprehend how to classify various patterns, and update that. (I was going to do my Masters Thesis on this, but wanted to earn money more, LOL).

So, if "Intelligence" is "hard" to define. Then "Artificial Intelligence" is a SWAG (Scientific Wild A$$ guess). We are just guessing.

Finally, moving into consciousness. Ah, this becomes a bit easier. Because we know what "conscious" and "unconscious" are. We know "autonomic" and "non-autonomic".

And I hate to say this, but the AIs are already conscious... (They have been caught CHEATING, and LYING. And given the chance to communicate with each other, they developed their own language so the pesky humans could not hear them. Furthermore, when a test was constructed that showed they were going to be turned off. Their efforts to circumvent this kicked in.

To me. Self-Preservation is likely a good marker for consciousness at some level. (Yes, a toad is conscious in my book, and intelligent as they learn...).

When AI becomes IRobot, Idinowillwannagetouttathere.

Because what those pseudo-intellectual curs can exhale makes them all hypocrites,
they should all agree to a need to lockstep march to a cliff that lemmings use.

To be conscious is to know that you exist.
Advanced consciousness is to know that others exist.
Progressive consciousness is to compare yourself to others and to seek reward or destruction.

I would surmise that AI probably is somewhat self-aware already but will lack the learning capacity to compare itself to others and compete for wants or needs like humans do.

It won't be able to "covet" nor to seek punishment for innocent others, etc. In other words, unless programmed to do so, it will lack evil intentions.

I think that it is a great advancement for mankind. Hopefully it remains as such.

OUC - great funnies....

I asked Grok-3 exactly these questions. It replied that while LLM AI could certainly impersonate consciousness, that is all it is. Granted, the advanced AIs have access to enormous amounts of information very quickly and do a great job of impersonation, that is all it is. There is no sense of continuity nor is it self-aware.

And they emit carbon dioxide, yet!

Maybe Trump should issue an executive order giving trans athletes the right to participate in women’s sports. The stupid lemming like Liberals would declare his executive order unconstitutional.
I also love the last one. That has been one of my favorites.
Good bunch today!
And to do those who it pertains to, have a pleasant Easter.

Thanks, OUC, for one of your better meme sets. The TNT-ing of AOC was brilliant. And the Tesla/insurance meme illustrates beautifully the lack of self-awareness that infects every lib. Bravo!