Have you ever closed an application on your computer? What distinguishes a person from any other computation, and why does that particular distinction carry so much moral weight?
What distinguishes a person from any other computation
A person is reflectively self aware.
and why does that particular distinction carry so much moral weight?
Evolution built me to care about humans, and upon reflection, the values I have include non-humans who have features like being reflectively self aware.
Is that what you would want to want, given the option, or is that a lizard-brain instinct that gets in the way of your ability to evaluate what’s really the right thing to do?
I can still interpret that either way. Do you mean that on reflection you realize that you emotionally desire that, or that on reflection you *decide” that that’s what’s important?
There’s also Hayekian arguments—self-aware agents are apt to accumulate information about their own desires and activities. Systems which allow that information to have an effect seem to be more capable.
Have you ever closed an application on your computer? What distinguishes a person from any other computation, and why does that particular distinction carry so much moral weight?
A person is reflectively self aware.
Evolution built me to care about humans, and upon reflection, the values I have include non-humans who have features like being reflectively self aware.
Is that what you would want to want, given the option, or is that a lizard-brain instinct that gets in the way of your ability to evaluate what’s really the right thing to do?
I can still interpret that either way. Do you mean that on reflection you realize that you emotionally desire that, or that on reflection you *decide” that that’s what’s important?
There’s also Hayekian arguments—self-aware agents are apt to accumulate information about their own desires and activities. Systems which allow that information to have an effect seem to be more capable.