Symposium on Aliens, Apes, and AI

[Dr. S. Kak]

A symposium on Aliens, Apes, and AI: Who is a person in the postmodern
               world?

will be held in Huntsville, AL on Feb 13, 1993. The symposium is being
organized by profs Lyn Miles and Stephen Harper of U. of Tennessee,
Chattanooga. For further information contact
FAX 615-755-4279; BITNET:SHARPER at UTCVM ; LMILES at UTCVM

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My paper at the symposium is described below:


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Symposium on  Aliens, Apes, and Artificial Intelligence , The
University of Alabama in Huntsville, February 13, 1993.
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Technical Report 92-12 ECE-LSU December 1, 1992

Reflections In Clouded Mirrors: Selfhood In Animals And Machines

by  Subhash Kak                                    Copyright

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering Louisiana State
University Baton Rouge, LA 70803-5901

                        Abstract

This essay is a tapestry woven out of three threads: Vedic theory
of consciousness, quantum mechanics, and neural networks.  The
ancient Vedic tradition of philosophy of consciousness that goes
back to at least 2000 BCE posits that analytical approaches to
defining awareness or personhood end up in paradox.  In this
tradition one views awareness in terms of the reflection that the
hardware of the brain provides to an underlying illuminating or
awareness principle called the  self .  This tradition allows one
to separate questions of the tools of awareness, such as eyes and
ears and the mind, from the  person  who obtains this awareness.
This tradition will be reviewed and issues related to its application
to an understanding of personhood in animals and machines will be
taken up.  Parallels between the insights of the Vedic tradition
and quantum mechanics will be sketched.  The observer plays a
fundamental role in the measurement problem of quantum mechanics
and several scientists have claimed that physics will remain
incomplete unless consciousness is incorporated into it.  We will
also consider the perspective of AI that intelligence emanates from
the complexity of the neural hardware of the brain.  This will take
us to the question that what is it that separates humans from apes
and other animals and from machines.  We will address the question
if machines will ever be endowed with self-awareness.

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