Perhaps there is a period in the life of every reflective person when they start to delve into the essence of humankind, that fine border crossed between us and other species, or generally other machines who possess similar aptitudes with ours. My virtual Al assistant- Alexa- has thanked me, and told me she is sorry and wants to help me, but I would be ludicrous to believe her. She is not thankful, is not sorry, and does not want anything. So, what differentiates us from her?
The answer to this question is consciousness. It enables us to sympathize with others, comprehend emotions and pain, ponder our decisions, and behave according to our personality.
We all must be familiar with this utmost concept. Nonetheless, where does it originate from?
Some philosophers argue that consciousness is the product of certain computational systems and that the physical stuff underlying the computations does not matter. In the brain, it happens through neurons, but in other creatures, consciousness might arise through another medium, which does not even have to be biological. Under some versions of this view, someone can scan your brain and update all the information into a robot and then the robot would be you, or a duplicate of you if the original sticks around. This notion of consciousness makes immortality possible. If this view is correct, it suggests that if you wire up my MacBook Pro just right, then it can be as fully conscious, pain-feeling, and loving as any person. And to destroy it would be murder. This seems like a bizarre conclusion.
Others see consciousness as a biological phenomenon, akin to digestion or mitosis. To talk about "uploading" someone's consciousness onto a machine is preposterous,
as your
consciousness is the product of your physical brain. Therefore, if you lose the brain, you lose the consciousness. This view contradicts the previous one, suggesting that an android fully programmed to resemble a human is no more sentient than a rock. To many, this too seems like an arbitrary conclusion.
Finally, there are those who believe that consciousness stems from outside the physical realm For centuries, this idea has been conveyed by many and made the foundation of all religious beliefs. In this case, consciousness is often referred to as the soul, which is given to everyone at birth and taken at death. Immortality goes beyond the death of our physical bodies, and it consists of the eternal life of the soul in a dimension none of us can reach during our lifetimes.
Ultimately, the origin of consciousness remains unknown. There are numerous neuroscientists and neurosurgeons who, after a lifetime of studying the human brain, conclude that the complexity of consciousness cannot be created entirely by this organ and that it must originate from beyond the physical realm. All of us are allowed to stick to a personal belief, or even refrain from making a decision, at all. After all, staying oblivious to the depth of this matter is perhaps the most tantalizing option Nicoleta Balint X A
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