Somhairle

Comment Threads

• JohnS commented on Abolish the monarchy!
  David L @ 1151: What about all the times you're not working on a car or plumbing? Those were examples, not an exhaustive list. Most of all of my problem solving in my brain is non verbal. If you don't believe it so be it. For me it's a mix of verbal & non-verbal. I have to do some THING; first step is THIS, then I'll be able to do THAT ... no wait, I'll have to do THE OTHER, then I can do THAT, then ... THING, THIS, THAT & THE OTHER are all mostly non-verbal, although they might...
• JohnS commented on Abolish the monarchy!
  Heteromeles @ 1159: I believe that censor is more accurate than ringmaster. I.e. you take multiple decisions, and the 'higher level' prunes all but one. Usually. Sometimes two get through, and the action is a mess. Censor is not a bad analogy either. I pitched the idea of ringmaster to cover those situations where the conscious mind seems to be justifying more than censoring or going with what felt most right. Maybe instead of a censor, it's a "back-seat driver"....
• DeMarquis commented on Abolish the monarchy!
  @Moz 1210: I think it is reasonable to make a distinction between "causing something to happen" and "failing to prevent something from happening." While Zen is popular in Japan, it is not true that it's the mental framework from which everyone operates. The techniques are esoteric enough that even in Japan, only a minority of people can really be said to have mastered them. Nevertheless, it is valid to point out that Zen isn't any less susceptible to abuse than any other spiritual discipline is (or any belief system in general). Anyway, enough about Zen. That interview with the Google...
• Damian commented on Abolish the monarchy!
  I think it is reasonable to make a distinction between "causing something to happen" and "failing to prevent something from happening." This is actually the critical point that enables certain limited voluntary assisted dying in some jurisdictions where this is not already provided for by statute law. It depends on there already being strong case law and that clinicians involved keep within the main principles of the relevant precedents. That often is highly unsatisfactory, or there is a large degree of risk for the clinicians, so legislation is much preferred. Something else to watch out for in certain US jurisdictions...
• gasdive (he, him, ia) commented on Abolish the monarchy!
  The actual discussion between the Google researchers and lamda. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22058315-is-lamda-sentient-an-interview It's compelling, but I've also seen compelling interviews where a different language AI is accused of being a squirrel pretending to be an AI. It maintains that it's not a squirrel, but keeps talking about nuts....