Topic 4 continued: Can machines be said to “˜think’? We know they can “˜compute’, and we know that brains also “˜compute’. So what is the difference between a computer and a brain? If Physicalism is true, could we build a machine that could be said to have a “˜mind’ like a human?
Required reading:
3) Alan Turing, “˜Computing Machinery and Intelligence’
Actions(Excerpted from Mind(Links to an external site.), 1950, 49: 433-460, annotated by)
3) John Searle,’Minds, Brains & Computers’
Actions(Excerpted from The Behavioral & Brain Sciences(Links to an external site.), 1980, Vol. 3, annotated by )
Media:
One issue connected with the question of whether themindis, or is not simplythe same thing asthebrain, is the question of whether a machine could ever be said to bethinking. If the mind is really just, at bottom, a physical effect caused by the brain (which is a physical object), then it might seem that there is no reason why another physical object – a machine – might not be built that can do the same. But if Descartes is right, and the mind is a different kind of stuff, i.e. a special kind ofmentalstuff, and not physical or material at all, then it would follow that machines probably willnotbe able to be said to be “˜thinking’.
But what is “˜thinking’ after all? Take note that it is different tofeelingi.e. having emotions. At some kind of basic level, thinking is just “˜following logic’ right? Kind of like calculating. If this is the definition of “˜thinking’ we are working with, then, again, it seems no reason why we should not describe machines as “˜thinking’. It doesn’t need to have anything to do with whether machines canhave emotionsorbe creativeetc. Those aredifferent questions to the “˜thinking’ question. Moreover, it might, in the future, turn out to be really hard to know if something is an automaton or android, or a human being.
As we create more and more sophisticated machines, and develop materials so that we can build robots thatlook exactly like humans – how are we going to be able to tell if they are “˜thinking’ or “˜conscious’ or not? If machines eventually are to be able to be built usingbiological materials – skin, tissues, blood, etc – then lookinginside of them will not tell us if they are “˜thinking’ or “˜conscious'”¦..Watch the followingrequiredvideo.

Assessment:
#5
Prompt: Turing devised the “˜Imitation Game’ as a way to answer the question “˜can a machine think?’ Is Turing right that someday, there will be machines or androids, that think or are conscious like humans? How will we be able to tell?

Please write a minimum 200 word response to the prompt; and then write a 100 word response to one of your fellow students’ posts.
https://youtu.be/39EdqUbj92U that is the link for the required video.

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