Ebook: What Robots Can and Can’t Be

ments be thrown to the wind - in light of the fact that careful, precise, step-by-step deductive arguments will be presented below for each and every proposition that might be cavalierly regarded prima facie implausible. Key Theses So, to put it colloquially, I think we're headed toward real­ izing Blade Runner, a classic sci fi movie in which only an elaborate pupil-scanner (which detects the usual physiolog­ ical correlate to an emotional response to provocative ques­ tions) enables one to distinguish androids from humans. And Blade Runner turned real, it seems to me, will be the Age of The Philosopher. Qualia Scanner Pupils undilated! Why? Well, to start, this will be an era within which the so-called "problem of other minds" will be especially pointed, because the sort of question frequently posed by in­ structors in introductory philosophy courses, namely How do you know, really know, that the person next to you isn't just a robot, that underneath her "skull" hums a complicated silicon device instead of a flesh-and-blood human brain? WHAT ROBOTS CANANDCAN'TBE 4 will be a deadly serious one.

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What Robots Can and Can't Be is a self-contained, rigorous, sustained argument for the unique, two-sided position that: (side one) Al will continue to produce machines with greater and greater capacity to pass stronger and stronger versions of the Turing Test; but that (side two) the `Person Building Project' (the attempt by cognitive engineers to build a machine which is a person) will inevitably fail. The defense of side two rests in large part on a refutation of the proposition that persons are automata -- a refutation involving an array of issues, from free will to G?del to introspection to Searle and beyond. The defense of side one brings the reader face to face with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as they tackle perhaps their toughest case (`Silver Blaze'); the upshot of this visit with Conan Doyle's duo is an algorithm-sketch for the solving of murder mysteries. Side two also involves a look at the author's mechanical' approach to writing fiction, and the philosophical side of computerized story generation. The volume is peppered with numerous illustrations, all quite professionally done.

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What Robots Can and Can't Be is a self-contained, rigorous, sustained argument for the unique, two-sided position that: (side one) Al will continue to produce machines with greater and greater capacity to pass stronger and stronger versions of the Turing Test; but that (side two) the `Person Building Project' (the attempt by cognitive engineers to build a machine which is a person) will inevitably fail. The defense of side two rests in large part on a refutation of the proposition that persons are automata -- a refutation involving an array of issues, from free will to G?del to introspection to Searle and beyond. The defense of side one brings the reader face to face with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as they tackle perhaps their toughest case (`Silver Blaze'); the upshot of this visit with Conan Doyle's duo is an algorithm-sketch for the solving of murder mysteries. Side two also involves a look at the author's mechanical' approach to writing fiction, and the philosophical side of computerized story generation. The volume is peppered with numerous illustrations, all quite professionally done.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xiv
Introduction....Pages 1-57
Our Machinery....Pages 58-96
Arguments PRO, Destroyed....Pages 97-129
What Robots Can Be....Pages 130-183
Searle....Pages 184-207
Arbitrary Realization....Pages 208-230
G?del....Pages 231-265
Free Will....Pages 266-327
Introspection....Pages 328-351
Conclusion....Pages 352-353
Back Matter....Pages 354-381

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What Robots Can and Can't Be is a self-contained, rigorous, sustained argument for the unique, two-sided position that: (side one) Al will continue to produce machines with greater and greater capacity to pass stronger and stronger versions of the Turing Test; but that (side two) the `Person Building Project' (the attempt by cognitive engineers to build a machine which is a person) will inevitably fail. The defense of side two rests in large part on a refutation of the proposition that persons are automata -- a refutation involving an array of issues, from free will to G?del to introspection to Searle and beyond. The defense of side one brings the reader face to face with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as they tackle perhaps their toughest case (`Silver Blaze'); the upshot of this visit with Conan Doyle's duo is an algorithm-sketch for the solving of murder mysteries. Side two also involves a look at the author's mechanical' approach to writing fiction, and the philosophical side of computerized story generation. The volume is peppered with numerous illustrations, all quite professionally done.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xiv
Introduction....Pages 1-57
Our Machinery....Pages 58-96
Arguments PRO, Destroyed....Pages 97-129
What Robots Can Be....Pages 130-183
Searle....Pages 184-207
Arbitrary Realization....Pages 208-230
G?del....Pages 231-265
Free Will....Pages 266-327
Introspection....Pages 328-351
Conclusion....Pages 352-353
Back Matter....Pages 354-381
....