Probable survive, gather resources, reproduce (maybe), and anything else that involves self-preservation.

If that's all then it would have to, by biological definitions, still be considered artificial.

but...it doesn't need those things, ya dig? The only drive it would have is doing what it was made to do...i'd imagine. Reproducing is copying files, transfers and backups...so no real thing there.

http://xkcd.com/869/

ha, i remember reading xkcd in tech school, the teacher loved it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjeptaI2T8E

Speaking on a serious note concerning self-aware automatons, it's pretty far fetched at this point. Though I will say we aren't in the proverbial "stone ages" of computer AI. Already reading things about these Stuxnet, flame, and other vicious programs that have pretty sophisticated coding. There are even some computer viruses that have self-preservation coding, causing them to evade capture by even the most robust anti-virus programs out there. Think that Flame virus which was derived from Stuxnet is one of the more vicious ones.

Definitely think we'll see computer viruses with a lot of AI potential, and eventually those might gain a small level of consciousness. Doubtful we'll see anything along the lines of the Agents in the Matrix, Johnny 5, and such until we get into Quantum computing.

I can see where this is going...


I'll be in the kitchen, wanting a midnight snack, and my new-fangled smart-fridge is gonna start giving me crap about me being on a diet.


Fridge: Do you really think you should be having that turkey sandwich?

me: Shut the hell up.

Fridge: Okaaay.., but I was talking to the microwave who was talking to the vacuum cleaner earlier..

me: not listening.

Fridge: Aaand it said that it had overheard the electric razor talking to the scales in the bathroom, and you know what it had to say... hmmm?

me: seriously, shut.the.[censored].up.

Fridge: It saaaid.., that you're a BIG boy these days!

me: I'm warning you...

Fridge: You hefty.. uh-huh.. you biiig.. oh-yeah.. you fluffy.. aw yeah.. you bigger than big!

me: *walks out of kitchen, followed by howls of laughter from the rest of the appliances*

Fridge: That's right! Who the machine? Uh-huh.. chump. You just keep on waddling back to your sorry ass life of-

me: *walks back into the kitchen armed with mah 12 gauge*

Fridge: Hey.. listen.. you wouldn't shoot a fridge with an icemaker, would ya? Pal... Buddy?

[the following has been censored due to the gratuitous man on machine violence that would now occur]



the war on skynet starts in my kitchen...

Maybe I'm not thinking about the same thing you are. So what you're saying is that the simulated person would view its own "death" or end with apathy?

What does your view of a self-aware machine involve? Once it can say and understand the implications of "I," it just sits there? It won't learn of interact with the world?

If I may offer a line of thinking...


Premise: intelligent design (what humans do when they make things) is more efficient than non-intelligent design (evolution).

Compare:
Will primordial goo ever become self-aware via non-intelligent design?
Will machines ever become self-aware via intelligent design?

Since the result of primordial goo becoming self-aware via non-intelligent design is discussing this, I think the conclusion is inescapable.

What is the biological definition of intelligence?

What if the self-aware computer builds another computer itself? Would it be artificial then? What if we built a biological brain using the same materials as our own? Would that be artificial?

The question then becomes if the server is actually being intentionally annoying or just ditzy.

I think the real question is, when will computers become self aware? I think it's inevitable, we just don't have the right technology yet.

What is the definition of self aware?sorry if it seems a bit vague but I'm trying to figure out what makes people self aware and how we could get a cpu to mimic such self awareness,things like societies pressures and individual outlooks seem to me to be what defines a person of being self aware of the world around them and of themselves,like being bullied or complimented or rewarded for actions or seeing the result of your own actions and their consequences,insecurities confidence and the ability to reason and question things,the spectrums of the human brain is so vast that certain aspects of what makes you self aware might not be the same for other people as in your life experience the emotions you feel and how you have been educated could play parts in making you aware of the impact of your actions,would a CPU be able to feel or protect itself if in danger or forever be commands put in place to tell it to feel or to tell it to avoid danger,if the latter is true it surly can't be defined as self aware as it has no choice but to be like that.probably if it started with an infant outlook of dependence which grows toward it's feeling for independence then perhaps, so many factors considered it would be a great amount of trial and error to produce something to process information the way the human brain does.
******** sorry for seeming like a dumb ass trying to be a smart ass,this is all purely from what I perceive and I'm happy to be corrected at any points I made if not everything I said , peace.

Ah, I see...as you were then.

I don't think a computer will ever have thoughts/intelligence of their own like humans or animals. Nature is such a miracle, that even a tiny ant has a brain more complex than the most complex computer today.

I think that is very debatable.

In what way?

I'm not sure there is a biological definition of intelligence, but correct me if I'm wrong. That definition is for when considering if something is alive. Viruses reproduce but they aren't considered living, so you have to take all the factors/rules into consideration. This is uncharted territory however so maybe someday the definition would change. As of now, it would be artificial no matter how intelligent.

If it uses the same material? That's a scientific stretch, but I have no idea.

i'm saying that a self aware computer would probably only "want" to do its job, as an entity it exists only to do it. I'm not sure a computer (a.i.?) would actually have wants outside of that. Humans do a lot of things to survive, we're driven buy hunger, procreation, and the desire to be secure (don't know about the last one, this is coming off the top my head right now)

A computer really wouldn't have those things driving it, what does food correlate to for a computer? battery life? also i doubt it want to create more/new beings such as itself, more likely it would just be a hive mind networked with multiple redundancies to feel secure.

I just doubt a computer intelligence would think/act anything like a human, it would have different values and needs/wants. Its thought process would be alien to our way of thinking

hope this makes some sense lol

In the way of whether the complexity of computers has surpassed the complexity of ant brains.

Also, depends highly on how you define "complexity".


Also, I find it amusing that my post above seems to have been completely ignored.

I was just going to say that! It could be complex to make but doesn't make it complex intelligence wise. That's the main factor to put into question.

What "job" are you talking about?

the computers job i guess, whatever the computer is made to do

Think my brain just started to bleed!

I hear that's bad for your kidneys.