What criteria do you use to decide upon the class of algorithms / computations / chemicals / physical operations that you consider “conscious” in the sense of “having experiences” that matter morally? I assume it includes many non-human animals (including wild animals)? Might it include insects? Is it weighted by some correlate of brain / hardware size? Might it include digital computers? Lego Turing machines? China brains? Reinforcement-learning algorithms? Simple Python scripts that I could run on my desktop? Molecule movements in the wall behind John Searle’s back that can be interpreted as running computations corresponding to conscious suffering? Rocks? How does it distinguish interpretations of numbers as signed vs. unsigned, or ones complement vs. twos complement? What physical details of the computations matter? Does it regard carbon differently from silicon?
Just in case people are taking timtyler’s point too seriously: It’s really one question, then a list of issues it should touch on to be a complete answer. You wouldn’t need to directly answer all of them if the implication for that question is obvious from a previous.
ETA: I’m not the one who asked the question, but I did vote it up.
What criteria do you use to decide upon the class of algorithms / computations / chemicals / physical operations that you consider “conscious” in the sense of “having experiences” that matter morally? I assume it includes many non-human animals (including wild animals)? Might it include insects? Is it weighted by some correlate of brain / hardware size? Might it include digital computers? Lego Turing machines? China brains? Reinforcement-learning algorithms? Simple Python scripts that I could run on my desktop? Molecule movements in the wall behind John Searle’s back that can be interpreted as running computations corresponding to conscious suffering? Rocks? How does it distinguish interpretations of numbers as signed vs. unsigned, or ones complement vs. twos complement? What physical details of the computations matter? Does it regard carbon differently from silicon?
That’s 14 questions! ;-)
Just in case people are taking timtyler’s point too seriously: It’s really one question, then a list of issues it should touch on to be a complete answer. You wouldn’t need to directly answer all of them if the implication for that question is obvious from a previous.
ETA: I’m not the one who asked the question, but I did vote it up.