ATS1835 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Weak Ai, Turing Machine, Intentionality
Document Summary
Functionalism says that mental states are characterised by their functional role, or the set of caudal links they have with sensory input, other mental states and behavioural output: hypothesis: if functionalism is true and mental operations are computational. If this hypothesis is true then a turing machine could have a mind. Is still a live hypothesis: winograd schema challenge shows we have yet not developed anything that has a mind - there is nothing that can pass it yet. "it is impossible for digital computers to understand language or think. Searse is the analogue of a computer, performs computational operations on formally specified elements: you are just producing outputs on what the information you have. Searle introduced the terms "weak ai" and "strong ai: weak ai: computers are a powerful tool in the study of mind. Strong ai: an appropriately programmed computer is a mind and literally has cognitive states such as understanding; machine programs literally explain human understanding.