#1 AI and the Mind / Body Problem
A philosophical question about what it means to be human
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind%E2%80%93body_problem
Often as humans, we have a natural tendency to attribute our sensations, self-awareness, and judgements on the rest of the world as a product of how our brain functions. But, how can a physical object such as the brain produce such non-physical ideas and abstract concepts? Immediately, we are inclined to think whether there is something more to us, something that sets us apart and allows to think rationally, reason and be a human.
This question brings us to the idea of a non-tangible immaterial entity called the “mind”. However, although intuitively it’s easy to ascribe our thoughts to something extra and something new it is extremely difficult to prove its existence. This is because as humans we trust our empirical perception. As minds are non-physical and can’t be seen, it is much more difficult to talk about them and discuss it’s purpose. Rene Descartes, a famous philosopher aimed to address the mind-body problem through the theory of causal interactionism. He was a firm believer in the idea that we as humans have both a mind and a body and these two substances interact with one another. Let’s take the example of me hitting a tennis ball with a racket. Descartes would say that there is a mental state that thinks about hitting the ball whereas the physical action or outcome is the action of moving your arm to swing and hit the ball.
However, it can be difficult to think about this without believing that the mind and the bodies are one and the same substance. Leibniz’s conceivability argument tries to solve this problem. Let’s think about it this way: we can perceive our existence without a body but we cannot perceive our existence without our mind. Suddenly, it is evident that the mind has a more intimate connection to who we are because it has a unique property that allows our self-awareness and perception which the body does not possess. Therefore, the two entities are not the same
Let’s now consider the case of Artificial Intelligence. As technology is developing, we often wonder whether one day the AI can possess a system that imitates the function of a mind.
CASE STUDY: SOPHIA THE AI ROBOT
Let’s talk about Sophia: the AI robot who was interviewed as the “first robot to get a citizenship”. However, can we say that she is a human? Of course, she is known for being able to achieve over 60 facial expressions and respond to questions. This brings us to the theory of Functionalism. The question arises: can we say this robot is a human because some of her functions are similar to those of humans?
Functionalism is the idea that any object that acts and imitates the “functions of a brain synapse” can be said to be a mind itself. However, how can a robot be a human when they can’t empathize with others or act spontaneously. A robot doesn’t have the intelligence of a human being to act based on what the circumstance is. They are preprogrammed based on a given number of situations and cannot work beyond that.
Have a think: do you think that an AI could ever replicate a human mind?
