Viewing Thread:
"Humans Vs robots."

I have been thinking about this for a long time, and after various heated debates with friends, i have come to a conclusion. Humans will always be better then robots. The reason being, that no matter how well programmed,
designed, or marketed, robots will never be truly sentient. Oh, they may one day seem sentient, and even the greatest biologists may not be able to tell the difference, but they will have 'bugs' something humans dont have.For example, take BOT's (basically robots with no body, used in games as opponents) When playing bots AND humans on perfect dark, I notice several key differences. No matter how good aim, speed or weapons human players always manage to trick the bots with carefully placed explosives, teamwork and tricks like getting behind a door and using a farsight to shoot through it as soon as the bots try to open it.
Bots also tend to walk into doors and get stuck. I often have to put them out of their misery, so they can regenerate and try again. The reason they walk into the wall, against all rationality, is because they are being told to by a faulty routine in their program. They have no free will to change that program. I know PD simulants and robots are quite different, but the fundamentals are the same. ROBOTS HAVE TO DO WHAT THEY ARE TOLD. they cannot 'break' programming. They cannot choose.
Can a bullet become a pacifist in mid air and stop? Can a wrench choose where it is used? No. Tools have no choice how, when and where they are used. People always do. Humans learn and adapt. Robots can only do this as long as their programs alow them to. They cannot improvise.
If the programmer forgot to insert the movement program, even Data would have been a cripple dragging himself along the floor like an idiot. Robots may be stronger and quicker, but they will never be smarter.

So can we make a perfectly accurate robot dog then?

ahh. Back to the action.....

Everyone has a different take on what a soul is or if it exists. My personal belief is that our soul is our conciousness, our sentience. Only humans have one. A soul isnt defined by the specific reactions to sertain stimuli, its how you think, feel and help.

any animal on the planet will do what nature dictates. Mothers only help their children to continue the species, dogs are only loyal because their genes say so. Humans are different. We are quite illogical. Why should we care so deeply about things we know we cant possibly change? why do we want to make the world a better place, when it is good enough to support us biologically anyway? why do we want to restrict sexual activity when it is the continuation of our species? We are outgrowing instincts. We study our own carnal impulses as if they were a caged animal. We now live in a realm above instinct, one of the mind.

I did say emotions ORIGINALLY were simple chemical reactions, but i also said they had evolved since then. I wont deny that some humans are just speaking beasts, like the terrorists that attacked america. But alot of us are changing for the better. just 400 years ago we were living in pestilance and daily toil. Look at us today, mastering the physics of the universe with just our minds. I could go on all day, but it would simple be too long (and boring for others)but give 'enduring love' by Ian Mc ewan for greater insight into the relation ship between human and animal existence.

The point is, humans have earned their lives and being through hard work, revolution, war and art. I dont think it is possible to install this culture and civilisation into a metal skeleton in a few years. And as i said before robots will be completely different to us. They will bear no relation to us. And what a being does with the ability to think defines who or what it is. Robots will always have deep founding in logic. I dont think they will be able, or even want to break away from the comforting logic that can explain everthing with atoms and equasions.

VenomByte wrote:
Can you say a young child still has no soul, or did Mr
> Bin Laden lose his?


I reckon it's behind the sofa.

Wahtever you lose is always behind the sofa, everytime.

I learnt that, could a robot learn that?


:-)

What is a soul Edwin, and how does it really affect the way we live our lives and make decisions?

How is a soul 'earnt'? Good deeds? Aren't you born with one? Does it give you an afterlife?

You've said that emotions are governed by chemical releases in the brain. If these decide your emotions, what difference will a soul make?

You've said that humans are the result of evolution. When did we start getting souls? Does a bacteria have a soul? Does a tree have a soul? When did the primordial slime start getting souls? Maybe current AI is the machine equivalent of that primordial slime?

You say Osama bin Laden has no soul. Does that mean he can be recreated as a robot? Don't you think it's harsh to say he has no soul? Can you say a young child still has no soul, or did Mr Bin Laden lose his?

You say robots can't feel like humans. What if you don't really feel. What if you only think you do?

In you experienced EXACTLY the same situation twice (think groundhog day, yet you don't know you're in it), would you act the same way each time? If you did, would that make YOU robotic?

alright your an engineer, but you got a philosophers mind.

If u really wanna give up, i wont bother you about it.

Sigh.

Do i have ur permission to print this or not btw?

Also, I'm not a philosopher, I'm an engineer.

I'm not stupid enough to continue an argument when I have used all my points up.

That's something I've learnt, like a robot could as well....


:-)

hey! you repeat ur points (eg u and venom have compared the human brain and a circuitboard again and again)
so stop flinging mud!

And what kind of philosopher gives up so easily?
Socrates would be spinning in his grave, if he wasnt just a pile of dust in some greek field.......

I've made all my points, and you're still not convinvced.

You however, seem to repeat the same points over and over.

hey dont give up! i like the challenge, and th reseach you do helps me learn more about programming and life. All good.

PS Can i have your permission to print this thing out and turn it into an essay? it really does make some very good points for booth cases.

Thanks.