Artificial Conscience
Anyone who has watched I, Robot and understood it would applaud Sir Isaac Asimov for his definitive work. I certainly do. I find his concepts a real eye-opener.
The fundamental basis for the villian's actions is a logical deduction. Yes, it is undeniable logic, that humans are a danger to ourselves, hence we must be protected from ourselves, but if there is one thing V.I.K.I. did not factor in, it is that we humans are responsible for ourselves, just as cats, dogs, birds and every other living being has the same responsibility for their own species' survival.
Asimov's concept of robotic conscience is wonderful. He suggests that robots
evolved a conscience. The chaos that is life most certainly seems to have found its way into Asimov's robots. But it is not entirely fiction. To evolve is to learn. and we have to learn to evolve. If a robot, or any being for that matter, has the capability to learn, then, for a given period of time, it must have evolved.
The goal of evolution is to improve. And one of the most fundamental concepts of working towards improvement is that you will never know what will come next. To ensure continual survival, a being capable of evolution will have to evolve a system, a standard form of problem-solving. We call this system the consciousness.
What is consciousness? It is that sense of self-awareness, that ability to place oneself inside the context that there is a world, and that world contains you. We can liken the consciousness to a simulation programme. There is you, and then your brain adds in all forms of possibilities that it can think of, trying to create as many scenarios as it can. Then it acts out the scenario, predicting, based on its knowledge of oneself, whatever it is we would do in such a situation. This is an effective method of survival, because when you meet an angry bull, you already know what you want to do.
but the consciousness is only a primitive system. The system that we have today is called the conscience. But what is a conscience? Even till today we cannot determine exactly which part of our brain our conscience resides. The conscience that you know is the one that has a little voice and goes something like: "you haven't completed your tutorials. You should really do them." I believe that is not the true purpose of a conscience. A conscience goes a step further by anticipating which scenario is the most important, and then setting your mind on accomplishing that task, instead of waiting for it to happen.
A robot can be described in pretty much the same way. If a robot is assumed to be intelligent enough to learn independently, then it can evolve, hence it will develop a consciousness. The unique robot Sonny is at the stage of consciousness. He questions his existence and the presence of dreams (i will delve into that area at a later date). And after consciousness comes the conscience. The development of free will, and of initiative, to make your own future. Thus the creation of artificial conscience.
It is the only logical conclusion. And my logic is undeniable.
Illusions
Contrary to popular belief, the biggest illusions occur not when you close your eyes, but when you open them. From the moment your eyes see, the illusion begins. To understand this, we must understand how the brain renders sight.
The brain works by deciphering bits of information transmitted by electrical signals, sent from all over the body. In the case of sight, electrical signals from the eyes are picked up by the brain and converted into an image. All that you learnt in primary and secondary school science about light falling on the eyes and forming an image is only the tip of the iceberg. But ever wondered,
what's next? The image is broken down into electrical signals that the brain receives, and inside that skull of ours it reforms that image. That much we can deduce ourselves.
Now the interesting part. The image that the brain forms is incomplete. Instead, it fills in whatever your eyes failed to pick up. All human eyes have a blind spot in the retina, usually the center, because there are no receptors on that part. For this reason, the eye fails to pick up certain spots in the image we see. Try some simple tests here.
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chvision.html The brain corrects for these errors by assuming whatever should be there, so now the overall image is one concocted by your brain. Just imagine, the very words you see here are partially made up.
And to top it all off, your brain actually has the power to decide what you see. Have you ever wandered into someone or something because you were not paying attention? In an experiment, people were asked for their full concentration to count the number of times a black ball was passed between a few people, all wearing the same coloured attire, in a simple ball game involving two balls, a white one and a black one. At the end of the experiment, they were asked if they saw the gorilla walking by. Almost all said they had not seen any gorilla. To prove that there was one, a video that recorded the entire experiment was immediately shown to them, to prevent any claims of altering the footage. The video revealed that during the course of the experiment, a man in a monkey suit had walked in between the players and stood there waving for a few minutes before walking off again. What does this show? That we only see what our brain wants us to see.
(more points to ponder) A cat seen through a pickled fence is not seen as slices of a cat but a whole cat. A driver engaged in a phone conversation looks round the corner but fails to see the cyclist. (now you know why never to distract the driver.) More information about sight here.
http://www.girevikmagazine.com/Girevik/Fourth/eyesight.htm
Sight. The biggest illusion of all. Because what you see is not what you get...
The Past
I have been haunted of late.
Not many days ago, i was haunted by a sight i thought i could put away for a long, long time. Then just today, a trip home with a friend stirred it up again. Memories. Painful. Clawing. Regretful. Desired. Conflicting. Tormenting. Haunting. Memories of her.
The past is an uncanny predator. It lets itself sink into the deep of consiousness, then when you least expect it, it springs from the depths, like an ancient shark full of vengeance, tearing and ripping till you have no more rational thoughts left, save those haunting visions. Visions so vivid they entice, and terrify, but they never go away... Much like a bee sting. You may have removed the bee, but the sting remains...
It seemed that it was not so long ago when i first saw her. But six months should have been more than enough to forget. And i would have, if not for today. Why do people fear the past? Because it arouses feelings, sometimes bad ones, that they would rather not experience again. Why do i fear the past? I know not. Perhaps it reminds me of my foolishness.
Wherever she has gone to, i hope it's a better place. I hope i don't have to see her again anytime soon. I've got other things on my mind. People other than her. I can't waste my time longing for something i know i'll never have.
The past is something i'd like to forget. This past, at any rate. With time, and some help, i'm sure i will.
Beginnings
Beginnings are scary. You always have the fear of starting something new, especially if no one has ever done it before. There is the fear of failure, the fear of ruining everything. But beginnings are essential. Either through free will or force, we all have to begin somewhere. An ever-changing world demands an ever-changing people, and change only comes about with new beginnings. Brave were the pioneers of old, and brave are the pioneers now. Why do we consider them brave? Because they knew that somewhere out there lay something better, and they had the courage to face up to their fear of the new, and forge new beginnings, be it in life, or science, or the arts.
Beginnings are mixed with a sense of fear and awe. They terrify you at times, but always draw you ever so closer, because somehow you know that beyond the shroud of uncertainty lies opportunity. For me, a new beginning has come. I have a world to discover, and through my eyes, you will see it the way i do...
The name's Jared. Jared Choy. So what else do you want to know?
I was born a slightly-heavier-than-normal baby boy on the 19th of August, 1987, but I actually gained consciousness when I was about 10. Yes, I'm 21 now, math nuts.
So, about my roots. Let's start from the bottom.
I can't remember my kindergarten, so let's not even go there.
Holy Innocents' Primary School. Mixed feelings about the place. Got some friends I can't seem to remember, and a few I've lost touch with. Hmmm, maybe some day I will look them up. Someday.
Then on to Zhonghua Secondary School. Most who didn't go there are probably wondering "huh? Where is that?". A little doubtful about the teachers, but I have no regrets about the friends I made there. Whenever I think about that, I still think it's more perfect than I could have ever hoped for. And it's in Serangoon, for those still wondering.
Temasek Junior College. Not what I expected JC life to be, but then again, nothing is ever what you expect it to be. I'm was in a nice class, but a weird subject combination. Physics, Maths, Econs, F Maths. Finally dropped F Maths. I have a strong suspicion the tutors there either try to ignore me or they just plain hate me. Maybe because I'm quiet... Yeah, it's the quiet ones that you should worry about.
After a few months of not doing one single thing of self-redeeming value, I found myself in Pasir Ris Camp, beginning my NS life on the path to a red beret. Even now, I still cannot figure out how I got chosen in the first place. And I'm sure many of you are wondering the same thing too.
I went on to call "Hell"don Camp my home for the remainder of my NS life, enduring through what will always be the most traumatic/excruciating/devastating experiences of my life.
Having found myself in one piece after my NS stint, I currently spend my time at home doing anything and everything NOT related to NS in ANY way(Ok mostly playing WOW, but I still do other stuff). At least not until reservist which is thankfully still not so near.
Decdud@hotmail.com is my default email. But I do have a gmail and yahoo account too, for those who never want a reply from me.
I'm a Christian. And I don't really care to count about how many ways you can worship God. Anglican, evangelist, presbyterian, catholic, protestant, whatever. See this face? It can't be bothered. Don't ask "oh, what type of Christian are you?". I'm a Christian, plain and simple. 'Nuff said.
Interests.
Playing computer games. Any kind. As long as it isn't sports.
Rock climbing. The thinking man's sport. Which is why I like it.
Listening to music. Good music, mind you. Not just any old thing.
Thinking. About all kinds of stuff. And I mean all kinds of stuff.
Reading. Whenever I can afford the time.
Movies. Again, good movies. The criteria for a movie is a plot, not a bunch of senseless people locking themselves in a house for senseless slaughter. That's a sequence of sad events, not a plot.
Anime. I'll watch it as long as it's nice. They actually contain quite a lot of interesting moral issues.
Blogging. Whenever I've got my thoughts organised enough.
Favourite movies. I'm a sucker for sequels.
Lord of the Rings. All 3 movies.
Star Wars. All 6 of them.
Harry Potter. 4 so far.
The Matrix. All 3 as well.
X Men. 3 so far.
Spiderman. Also 2 so far.
Jurassic Park. All 3.
Pirates of the Caribbean. 2 so far.
Anything from M. Night. Shyamalan. Now here's someone who knows how to write a good horror movie.
Got a few more nice movies that i cannot remember currently. I'll add them when I do.
Welcome, to my humble abode.
Before you continue, there are some things you should know. A disclaimer, if you may.
I am by no means an ordinary blogger, of which some would consider to be... eccentric.
'Eccentric' is just a nicer way of saying that I am, admittedly, quite disturbed.
'Why?', you may ask. Most people suffice with telling you about their day.
But I have no interest in telling you about what flavour ice cream I had for lunch, or how many chicks I saw today, or how angry I was when so and so said this and that.
Do not expect bite-sized nibblets that you can read in 3 seconds. Think long. Yes, essay style.
Do not expect to find pictures of me on this blog.
Do not ask me when I am going to update my blog.
I will update it in my own time.
I like keeping people in suspense anyway.
Do not always expect bright and cheery messages of peace and love.
I am not so optimistic.
I also tend to get a bit of depression every now and then.
Most of what I blog require deeper understandings of how this world works.
More specifically, the human aspect of Life.
But, I am not a know-it-all.
Nor do I pretend to be one.
I am merely sharing with you an alternative point of view.
If you feel otherwise, I respect your individual perspective.
And applaud your second thoughts on questioning what you read.
My aim in creating this blog is to give you an insight into the human mind.
Be it for better.
Or worse.
Bearing these in mind, should you still wish to continue,
Click on the pictures to navigate.
Feel free to contact me at decdud@hotmail.com if you wish to participate in some intellectual conversation.
Or if you want to send me hate mail.