[haltist]

Ascribing human properties to computers and software has always seemed very bizarre to me. I always assume people are confused when they do that. There is no meaningful intersection between biology, intelligence, and computers but people constantly keep trying to imbue electromagnetic signal processors with human/biological qualities very much like how children attribute souls to teddy bears.

Computers are mechanical gadgets that work with electricity. Humans (and other animals) die when exposed to the kinds of currents flowing through computers. Similarly, I have never seen a computer drink water (for obvious reasons). If properties are reduced to behavioral outcomes then maybe someone can explain to me why computers are so averse to water.

[bt1a]

A shame you can't find any meaningful parallels like many of us. Why the pissy tone? Here's some good reading for you

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltage-gated_ion_channel

[haltist]

I am aware of the mechanical models of cognition. They're unconvincing.

[pyinstallwoes]

Try having a human without electromagnetic first principles.

In fact, anything really.

But really: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetite#Human_brain

[pyinstallwoes]

Quoting for context:

>> Magnetite can be found in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is associated with information processing, specifically learning and memory.

>> Using an ultrasensitive superconducting magnetometer in a clean-lab environment, we have detected the presence of ferromagnetic material in a variety of tissues from the human brain.

>> The role of magnetite in the brain is still not well understood, and there has been a general lag in applying more modern, interdisciplinary techniques to the study of biomagnetism.

[version_five]

He was inspired by lesswrong which from my scan more mysticism and philosophy (with a handful of self importance) than anything about how computers work. Advanced technology is magic to laypeople. It's like how some people believe in homeopathy. If you don't understand how medicine works, it's just a different kind of magic.

[haltist]

I guess that might be tied up with human biology, the need to attribute agency to inanimate objects. That one is a worthwhile puzzle to figure out but most people seem more mesmerized by blinking lights and shiny gadgets than any real philosophical problems.

[astrange]

Lesswrong is basically a new online religion where you worship by acting like you're a STEM expert, which is part of why they have so many strong assumptions about how AI must work all based on untrue ideas about how it actually works.