We don't know what makes things sentient–so let's stop acting like we do

Re:We don't know what makes things sentient–so let's stop ac... by johnsimer on Monday June 13, 2022 @12:39PM (#31727939)

1) How would processing all inputs and determining actions be less effective if everything was done subconsciously rather than consciously? Our hearts determine the correct speed and pressure to beat at all unconsciously and that is evolutionarily advantageous. Why would some information processing tasks benefit more (or at all) from consciousness?

2) Assuming "[consciousness] is an illusion created because it was evolutionarily advantageous" is true, still how do those subjective sensations of existing and being aware of things - those qualia - how do they come about? How do these alleged consciousness-enabling genes that got selected into our genome create proteins that then create this qualia for us?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:We don't know what makes things sentient–so let's stop ac... by RedNifre on Monday June 13, 2022 @12:59PM (#31728240)

Re 1) It is advantageous to predict what other humans are doing, so it makes sense for your brain to create a simulation of the world with other humans in it. To try different scenarios, it adds "you" to the simulation, figures out what the best decision is and then puts that decision into "you" (as in, you can measure that your brain makes a decision before you become consciously aware of it).

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:We don't know what makes things sentient–so let's stop ac... by Tozen on Monday June 13, 2022 @03:35PM (#31730583)

Seems like we should not stop at just what other humans are doing, as clearly attempting to predict what other animals might do or the environment around us would be just as important.

[ Parent | on HN ]