(Balance!) Consciousness, identity, OBEs... (Identity)

by romansh , Saturday, March 05, 2011, 21:39 (5011 days ago) @ xeno6696

David - No question about self-awareness. We have it, my dog recognizes himself in the mirror, so he has a little. Can computers ever achieve it? No.
> 
> I really think your dogmatic attitude on this point is forever annoying, lol. However, even if we get a machine that acts like us, walks like us, introspects like us--because we don't know how to 'test' consciousness--you can keep making that claim.
My laptop seems to have a degree of self awareness. It knows when its batteries are low, it even tells me. It will shut itself down if I ignore it, all on its own. My laptop definitely is aware of its virtual memory - or at least it keeps telling me its virtual memory is low. Give a laptop a GPS, and it will be able to distinguish itself from other laptops with similar GPSs. -Of course I'm not claiming my laptop is aware to the same degree I am, but to claim machinery cannot have any form of self awareness is, for me, worrying.