Will AI ever = conciousness or sentience?

[DoktorZ]

I like A's hypothetical cyborg monkeys--it saved me the time of writing that myself!

I'm of the opinion that much of the defense of free will takes the form of a frantic attempts to save a particular view of ethics.

I agree. However, having lived many years abroad in non-Christian countries, I think the appeal of free will is a lot broader than we might think. People like believing that they're free--regardless of whether or not that's true. I reckon in some ways it is connected to the emergence of global consumer capitalism.

But you should also consider the historical argument I'm making: some of the strongest opponents of liberal humanism and free will were socialist technocrats. In the minds of the masses eagerly saving pennies for some Apple product, believing somehow that this is some profound form of agency, negation of free will is tantamount to embracing Stalinism. And I'm not just talking about crazy right-wingers or slightly dumb teenagers. So, these cultural and historical factors have also unexpectedly bolstered the philosophical belief in free will, which I think emerged out of the traumas of WWII and the USSR, PRC, etc. You can throw all kinds of fMRI scans on decision making in front of their eyes, and all they hear is Koestler's inquisitor, Ivanonv.

I'm persuaded though, that when you look at the practical application of ethics, that of controlling behavior through law, incentives and punishments, the need for free will evaporates.

See, I have always found this train of thought very tempting because, on some level, I think I desire a rational technocracy. This is troubling, however, given the historical experience many of us share from the last century. Social management has proven its effectiveness time and again, which, when divorced from ethics itself, is terrifying. Who watches the watchers and so on. The application of social management techniques is not the same thing as establishing ethical principles, as I'm sure you'll agree.

In a way, this is a how religion has found a place for itself in an age of science, which is, of course, highly unfortunate because most of its ethical instructions are useless or worse.

Finally, one thing I'd like to say is that the abandonment of free will and our essential humanity (whatever that is) may very well be a good, and exciting, thing to experience. Cyborg monkeys! But seriously, when you think of the possibilities for humans, and all of the interesting "life" forms, or "sentient" machines we might encounter, or our potentially accelerated evolution, isn't it exciting? Being a hairless monkey on stuck on this polluted rock is so 2011.

Z