zlacker

Hacker News gets a lot less creepy/sad/interesting when you ignore the first-person pronouns and remember they're just biomolecular machines. It's a scaled up version of E. coli. Useful, sure, but there's no reason to ascribe emotions to it. It's just chemical chain reactions.

>>in-sil+(OP)
The only thing I know for sure is that I exist. Given that I exist, it makes sense to me that others of the same rough form as me also exist. My parents, friends, etc. Extrapolating further, it also makes sense to assume (pre-ai, bots) that most comments have a human consciousness behind them. Yes, humans are machines, but we're not just machines. So kindly sod off with that kind of comment.

>>in-sil+(OP)
Makes zero sense. “Emotion” is a property of these “biomolecular machines”, by its definition.

>>illiac+EO1
But if you weren't one of them, would you be able to tell that they had emotions (and not just simulations of emotions) by looking at them from the outside?

>>in-sil+Hh2
If I wasn’t one of them I wouldn’t care. It’s like caring about trees having branches. They just do. The trees probably care a great deal about their branches though, like I care a great deal about my emotions.

>>illiac+2l2
Well some people appreciate the world around them, and would care about it just as they care about trees having branches.

>>in-sil+Tn2
Some people definitely, but you made a point that you don’t. People are “biomolecular machines” and they are “useful, sure”.

I wouldn’t call that “appreciating the world around oneself”.

Want that your whole point, that people aren’t better than machines?

>>illiac+R93
Yes, my point was that people aren't better than machines, but just because I don't exceptionalize humanity doesn't mean I don't appreciate it for what it is (in fact I would argue that the lack of exceptionality makes us more profound).

>>in-sil+8b3
I wouldn't proclaim a lack of exceptionality until we get human level AI. There could still be some secrets left in these squishy brains we carry around.

>>xyzspa+vE1
"Yes, LLMs are machines, but we're not just machines. So kindly sod off with that kind of comment."