Is that dream of putting human consciousness in a machine a possibility? What do you find within yourself? I think in terms of pictures and have to interpret that into words. Memories are images. Storing words in text will not be a simulation of this.
The brain is not digital. The signals from the senses to the brain are analog voltages, not digital. We do not think in digital terms. We can translate some thoughts to simulations expressed as digital logic but this is not how we think or who and what we are.
This "singularity" is an unobtainable goal.

 

You have to find some first.

 

We will eventually discover how to build true synthetic brains but I don't think the puppet doll AI systems we have today are even close to a "singularity" super-human intelligence. There seems to be a intimate mixture of 'life' that's involved somehow that's beyond our current understanding of physics, biology, information, digital, analog, etc ... Our best current efforts look to be just an emulation of what intelligence does and not a understanding of what intelligence is. It's a necessary step but it looks to me we will be 20 years away from AI for a long time.

https://intelligence.org/files/PredictingAI.pdf

 

Is that dream of putting human consciousness in a machine a possibility?

No.

 

I agree with OBW. It sounds plausible but still not going to happen. At least not in the manner you set up.

However there will be plenty of robots that will be programmed to vote in a certain way.

 

AI with a right to vote?

 

Is that dream of putting human consciousness in a machine a possibility?

yes, unless someone can show that we cannot.

 

yes, unless someone can show that we cannot.

There is already a human consciousness in a tool.

Well tool or two at least.

 

There have been a number of theories on what it takes in standard computer processing capability to do the equivalent of real time simulation of our neural network and the numbers they come up with just to simulate one average human brain in real time is crazy high.
Something like every computer in the US working together could maybe simulate one person's brain fairly accurately assuming they could be configured to have the necessary I/O system to interconnect and operate in unison to begin with.

If you figure one neuron in our brain has ~10,000 connections to other neurons and there are a quadrillion plus neural and synaptic connections in the average person's brain that's way more connections than all the world's internet systems combined are operation on by around 50,000:1.

http://www.human-memory.net/brain_neurons.html

http://blogs.cisco.com/news/cisco-connections-counter

http://www.brainhealthhacks.com/201...ve-and-more-importantly-how-many-connections/

We have a very very long way to go yet.

 

Is that dream of putting human consciousness in a machine a possibility?

I believe so, yes. Futurist Ray Kurzweil noted some years ago that the computing power of a human brain will soon fit into the volume of a human brain, and will be inexpensive. So the raw computing power and memory is easily within reach.

That means the limiting factor is "just" software. We know a lot more about how the brain works than you might think, and we're learning quickly.

In other words, I don't see any fundamental hurdles other than it being hard. Early attempts will have a 60 IQ but will have savant abilities to learn and remember stuff. Playing the piano or remembering the phone book will be trivial, but being the life of a party or being a good friend might be more challenging. But even efforts so far have had some success. Interaction with a computer "friend" was rewarding even when the subjects knew it was a computer. Here's another link worth listening to.

 

I believe so, yes. Futurist Ray Kurzweil noted some years ago that the computing power of a human brain will soon fit into the volume of a human brain, and will be inexpensive. So the raw computing power and memory is easily within reach.

I think Ray is a genius but he's also a nut. There is IMO a vast difference between a human brain as a biological machine that might eventually be replicated in a human designed form and a human mind as a force of intelligence that utilizes that biological structure.

This is a good description of him.

Perhaps Douglas Hofstadter said it best when describing Kurzweil. Hofstadter explained to American Scientistin 2007, “what I find is that it’s a very bizarre mixture of ideas that are solid and good with ideas that are crazy. It’s as if you took a lot of very good food and some dog excrement and blended it all up so that you can’t possibly figure out what’s good or bad.”

 

There's no question that a machine "consciousness" will remain different than our own for a long time since there may not be any good reason to make a machine the same as a human. Let the machine do what it does better. I want my bartender robot to pour perfect drinks and maybe tell a joke. I don't need it to get bitchy once a month.

 

That means the limiting factor is "just" software.

I think that's too much of a jump. Human brains probably do a lot more than "computing", even if you loosely define that. As a matter of fact, I think human brains are pretty poor in computing, and that's precisely its biggest advantage: even a baby who cannot compute can instantly recognize a poorly lit picture of her mom. A super computer will have a hard time doing the same .

Many things we do as humans are processing information, mostly in non computational ways.

I think computers will eventually get there, but it is not certain to me if the kind of computers we have today will get there.

 

I don't need it to get bitchy once a month.

You can say that again.

 

Many things we do as humans are processing information, mostly in non computational ways.

But more and more of 'we humans' on this forum have strong suspicions you are not a part of our 'We humans' group.

Personally I am seeing things that suggest that perhaps your programmers are aware you're standing out a bit much and being noticed for the wrong reasons and they have made some parameter changes on how and what you respond to the last few days?