Richard Robertson

@ProgrammingGodJordan, a couple years or so ago I was vexed by your reasoning wrt the reason/purpose for accelerating entropy. I still don’t get it. I see no explanation for why this, by itself would be desirable.

This would be a good place to insert something I fundamentally believe wrt the future of AI, which is that it will be shaped by…[Read more]

I’m getting over two minutes of just black at 1:21, in two different browsers. Am I missing something?

I can vouch for the safety & content of the researchgate.net link. I’m also subscribed to a few topics there.

Unseen wrote:
Was there an actual definition of free will in there? I didn’t find it.

Good point, I think there is no sensical definition for it as long as spirits, gods, souls, and other impossible entities are nonsensical… but I don’t want to say the free will discussion is useless. Because…

Unless you are saying that free will is defined a…

[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:
And how about spreading the word about Reason and Science much better in a way that appeals to a mass audience?

I agree, and think the only way to survive will be to teach kids to think for themselves and be skeptical of authorities and cultural influences.

As a species, we’re suddenly facing exponential growth, for…[Read more]

OOH-EE, I just discovered a new ringtone to edit!

Pope Beanie, has willed the following definition of free will in his personal, internal dictionary.

I do not care about other definitions, because 1) no definitions to date are scientifically based, 2) the feeling of free will is universally a personal feeling. Declarations of how determinism causes behaviors of every neuron, which in turn a…[Read more]

_Robert_ wrote:
The human brain may also use electrical or some other noise to enrich our ability to determine choices to help our survival.

Yes. Creativity. E.g. dreams, even.

There’s also the analog nature of the hormones and neurotransmitters that bathe neurons and their synapses, so even the binary output of neurons are somewhat randomly…[Read more]

Davis wrote:
facebook and twitter disinformation are the biggest threat to western civilisation

IMO the employment of increasingly sophisticated AI will amplify that threat. I keep saying that the benefit vs threat of AI will depend, at first, on who designs it and owns it. AI is not a tool that should, by only its own nature, ever be expected to…[Read more]

Unseen wrote:
don’t be surprised to hear a loud guffaw

Some mutations are more likely than others, varying according to the likelihood of (e.g.) gene-level stresses, epigenetics, or specific kinds of copying errors that enable mutations to slip by.

A question no one seems to want to ask

It’s been asked a lot, and studied extensively, but c…[Read more]

I’ll absolutely take it. By the time I’m given the opportunity, millions would have already taken it, so by then we’ll know a lot more details about its safety and efficacy, although we likely already know enough from the robust research required by the FDA that’s more stringent than in many other countries.

In fact, I think the FDA is way too…[Read more]

_Robert_ wrote:
Is this really a binary question? Maybe the “free” part of “free will” can be graded somehow.

I think about that a lot. If we could ever find a way to discuss it as if it really exists, I’m sure it would be scalar, not binary. One’s ability to behave according to want/will/planning can vary depending on health, genes, drugs,…[Read more]

Wouldn’t mind seeing baby Satan in a manger, in a city park for Christmas.

Unseen wrote:
Proponents of the preconscious will say that it has access to plans and strategies and tactics you’ve worked out in advance which it uses, though you become consciously aware of the implementation shortly afterward. It’s as if a mind inside your mind is handing you slips of paper telling you what to do next.

Drat, well stated. I’l…[Read more]

So is consciousness always relegated to the back seat, while only the unconscious mind drives Me and informs my consciousness of its decisions? (I’m only using the word unconscious because that’s the word used by the neurologist in her presentation. Preconscious would work fine for me, too.)

Even if an unconscious decision is made before my…[Read more]

Davis wrote:
free will infers conditions in which an agent is morally responsible for their decisions

Yeah, I think that’s a reasonable definition, and would be useful to discuss. Conversely, a deficiency of free will could infer (say) sufficient reason to not hold someone morally responsible for an action, as we’ve seen in some behavioral…[Read more]