It's actually pretty simple, which is why academics are obsessed with over thinking it.
It's the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
For humans (ie those who are conscious) every decision is a moral one. There are effectively infinite different choices to be made, some better than others, and exactly one is the Good choice. That understanding, and the responsibility that goes with it, is what we call consciousness. This concept encapsulates internal dialog, personal freedom, and even why there is a "me" that is separate from the rest of existence, even while my physical body is completely contained by other systems; that's the part of me that is not mechanistic but probablistic and can exist in multiple potentialities at once until a choice is made.
Animals, by constast, are fully deterministic. They are basic neural networks whose output is predictable based on the input, even if there is an element of randomness. The do not make choices; given the same input, you will get the same output or, at least, a very narrow range of outcomes to which very accurate probabilities can be assigned.
This also describes "AI". There is nothing an AI can come up with that enough humans, given enough time, can predict. It's fast and complex, which makes it look intelligent but it's behaviour is completely dictated by it's input.
I see. So, in your view, consciousness is a gift from the Snake, who inspired us to acquire the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Over here in the real world, humans are animals. There is no evidence to determine whether we are fully deterministic or not. We don't feel like we're fully deterministic, but that could just be illusory, and those feelings could be as deterministic as anything else.
It's actually pretty simple, which is why academics are obsessed with over thinking it.
It's the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
For humans (ie those who are conscious) every decision is a moral one. There are effectively infinite different choices to be made, some better than others, and exactly one is the Good choice. That understanding, and the responsibility that goes with it, is what we call consciousness. This concept encapsulates internal dialog, personal freedom, and even why there is a "me" that is separate from the rest of existence, even while my physical body is completely contained by other systems; that's the part of me that is not mechanistic but probablistic and can exist in multiple potentialities at once until a choice is made.
Animals, by constast, are fully deterministic. They are basic neural networks whose output is predictable based on the input, even if there is an element of randomness. The do not make choices; given the same input, you will get the same output or, at least, a very narrow range of outcomes to which very accurate probabilities can be assigned.
This also describes "AI". There is nothing an AI can come up with that enough humans, given enough time, can predict. It's fast and complex, which makes it look intelligent but it's behaviour is completely dictated by it's input.
I see. So, in your view, consciousness is a gift from the Snake, who inspired us to acquire the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Over here in the real world, humans are animals. There is no evidence to determine whether we are fully deterministic or not. We don't feel like we're fully deterministic, but that could just be illusory, and those feelings could be as deterministic as anything else.