Conscious or ConSCIENCE

Wright’s main objective: The closer machines get to acting like humans the more humans start to act like machines

Wrights starts his argument with a light satiric attitude where he pokes fun at humans who take themselves too seriously and choose trivial trials to act as extreme obstacles to better boost self-confidence. For example challenging a computer animated chess game and claiming it’s for the dignity of humanity (Wright 140).

Wright brings up arguments regarding past figureheads such as Copernicus, and Darwin whom leads him to the discussion of souls and machines. He points out that such arguments force philosophers to discuss “consciousness” or “souls” even though they are not theologians (Wright 140).

This argument leads him to a very important aspect of his essay that by some definitions we may be mindless machines as well (Wright 140). He continues to point the qualities computers lack such as common sense, and programs being created to bridge that gap. But are they comparable to traits of the human race… most likely not (Wright 140-42)

There are many different takes on the existence of a soul and opinions surrounding this come from all angles. The most credible philosophers are those who do not strictly define the consciousness but state it is mysterious Sometimes it is better to “deepen” a question like that rather than answer it (Wright 143)

Qualities like emotions make our world more complicated and influence the physical world Wright points out that not all questions of consciousness depend on the use of artificial intelligence (Wright 145).

Some philosophers believe that by creating these machines with “brains” we are attempting to create a form of a soul, which raises more theological questions. Although Turing generally shields away from such questions, he noted that some people might complain that to create machines that can actually think would be creating souls and God only posses that power. Touring disagreed and argues that God gave us these talents to aid us not to replace us, we’re not gifted enough to create souls (Wright 146).