i think we are created much alike digital, binary computer processors. We have 1 and 0s meanig neurons can be in charged or discharged mode. So the special regions in the brain detect signal frequency when neuron discharges or not (1 and 0). So you might ask than if we are much alike why do humans have free will of choice? How do we have “real” inteligence and artificial inteligence still suffers a lot. Well… Problem is in the software. Maybe you’ve never thought of our software, how we think, how we use our “hardware”?
So how my brain knows when I touch my finger on really hot object, during that moment when receptors firing stimuli like crazy through neurons to brain, that this means I have to immediately take it off? Well u will say that’s instinct and yes. On the really simple level instinct is the software (and other many things also, your free will as well which can be thought is not actually free will). And our “software” was developing during millions of years so it is like it is now. So would you doubt that if we give that much time to a processor (piece of metal) and let it learn everything. Like we already have python neural networks and machine learning libraries. And a little example about what our free will is. If I create little python code
number = random.randint(1, 10)- meaning generate random number between 1 and 10
if number == 2:
print “hello”
if number == 5:
print “bye”
if number == 6:
print “I love you”
if number == 7:
print “I hate you”
you can call this randomization “mood” :D if you want. So what is difference? Well millions of years have created conditions like that you can’t even count. That makes our free will. That is our software, that what we call intelligence. But is it?
thanks for listening my opinion. up vote and follow will be much appreciated.
Absolutely, I personally would be more inclined to relate your example to the workings of the brain! There are some schools of thought that suggest we are all brain. I'm attempting to create the idea that our whole being is inherently conscious, inherently aware and that this being then interacts with different 'software' and 'programming' such as our gut, our hearts, our brains (all contain 2 way information streams). My suggesting of particles being conscious would say that all of life is conscious, now of course what programming they run on top of this consciousness is what's going to give us the vast diversity of life!
Well, I would say yes with contingencies. It is a default level of intelligence that has been developed and programmed into us for millennia. However, this intelligence can be adapted, removed and replaced. I also believe as I alluded to above to our multiple forms of "intelligence" outside of brain/logic/programming.
But also. If we suggest particles are inherently conscious then if/when we build effective AI it will, in this context, be inherently conscious. It will just have a different operating system in which to experience this world! Some would call this unnatural (On a small level I think I agree). However, we humans are natural, and we created it. I wouldn't call a beehive unnatural so why is a machine?
I approve your idea. Appreciate your reply
Interesting internalization.
Neurons are not binary at all. They operate on action potentials. Analog.
We have free will because the quantum mechanics mentioned in this post ensure that we do. An alien with a telescope can not know everything about our planet and use that to predict the future.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_principle
i want to tell you, please read action potential how it works. i am almost doctor and with my knowledge i can say that action potential is digital. i want to consider All-or-none law. when potential rises higher than -50mv action potential starts if it didn't go higher than nothing happens. same story All-or-none 1 or 0 . it's digital. and about Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. yes we cant say where particle will be but it does not mean that it's really uncertain and they don't have their conscious where to go.
Don't worry! I know my neuroscience!
I definitely don't consider this to be digital - dispite what you correctly mention about the threshold potential.
In fact, I would not consider a neuron to be concretely analogue or digital (those words are used to describe a number of incompatible things). Neurons transmit spikes of activity (all spikes are mostly identical) randomly based on their inputs. So if a particular input state set results in a 30% chance of spiking the neuron will spike 30% of the time. The neuron will readjust with different inputs (usually, there is modulation and bistable neurons).
Basically a neuron uses a binary output state (spike or no spike) to transmit an analogue probability.
Here are some papers that might be interesting:
doi:10.1038/nrn3361
http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~fritz/absps/nips00-ab.pdf
http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~fritz/absps/sallans04a.pdf
maybe maybe... there is another side as well. frequency of discharge since, every cycle has same value in mv, there needs to be some variation to distinguish signals. yes source of signal can be analog but actual neuron fiber... i see it as digital. for example receptors give off analog signal (depends on how much it will be excited ) but then it is transformed into digital signal by neurons and the stronger receptor is excited longer will neurons transmit signals in a way of discharge.
Well the most accurate description would not be digital or analogue in the same terms as we discuss.
Sure the output of a neuron is a digital signal with two discrete values, on and off. Receptors (with the exception of the eyes and some other things) do not give off analogue signals. They do the same thing as neurons, a probabilistic-discretized output encodes the analogue input.
Again, basically a neuron uses a binary output state (spike or no spike) to transmit an analogue probability encoding the sum of its inputs.
and i agree with this opinion now :)