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From: jeff@aiai.ed.ac.uk (Jeff Dalton)
Subject: Re: Quantum Mechanics, Consciousness, and AI
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References: <BILL.94Oct21154212@cortex.nsma.arizona.edu> <Cyrs9B.Hp2@cogsci.ed.ac.uk> <39r5bv$2ci@walton.maths.tcd.ie>
Date: Thu, 17 Nov 1994 23:53:04 GMT
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In article <39r5bv$2ci@walton.maths.tcd.ie> ftoomey@maths.tcd.ie (Fergal Toomey) writes:
>jeff@aiai.ed.ac.uk (Jeff Dalton) writes:
>
>>In article <BILL.94Oct21154212@cortex.nsma.arizona.edu> bill@nsma.arizona.edu (Bill Skaggs) writes:
>>>zlsiida@fs1.mcc.ac.uk (Dave Budd) writes:
>>>
>>>   I read a report in my newspaper yesterday of some experiments at a UK 
>>>   university which appear to support the theory that quantum effects are 
>>>   involved in consciousness.  [ . . . ] A paper is forthcoming, but I 
>>>   negelected to note which journal, though it's one I'm sure several 
>>>   readers of comp.ai.philosophy will read.
>>>
>
>What is the basis of the belief that the discovery of quantum effects
>in the brain would cast doubt on AI? Is it that people think quantum
>effects cannot be reproduced by a computer?
>
>If so, this belief is surely false, since quantum phenomena are
>described by the mathematical theory of quantum mechanics and can
>therefore be simulated on a computer. 

So?  What does the simulation accomplish?  Simulating an effect
doesn't involve that very effect happening.  So if that very effect
is required, simulating it isn't enough.

Of course, this says nothing against *artificial* intelligence,
since we might well be able to construct objects in which the
required effects do occur.

(Some simulations do include the effects they're simulating.
E.g. simulating a digital circuit on a machine that uses such
circuits, but I haven't noticed anyone running the argument
that way.)

-- jd
