Chapter 6
The Synthesis
Summary of Ideas Presented. We have covered many diverse topics in the previous chapters, and any single chapter itself could arguably become a dissertation on its own. But our goal was to develop a relationship among what at first blush would be perceived as diversely unrelated subjects. Nonetheless, all of these topics merge together to provide the foundation for this thesis. We introduced our discussion with the subject of nanotechnology. The initial projections suggested for nanotechnology set the stage to accept exploration into the realm of the extremely small. This paradigm shift naturally led to a thrust toward development of ever more-compact electronics through the advent and progression of CMOS technology. But we also saw where CMOS production will reach its lower economic limit in the fairly near future only to be replaced by ever-smaller devices evolved from different physics. True nanoelectronics will be derived from the molecular structure upward, and research has already started in this direction. Molecular electronic devices and wiring – components synthesized from basic molecules – will replace CMOS technology as component sizes continue their relentless march downward in response to the ever-increasing demand for ever more-capable microprocessors. We reviewed the progression of electronic computer development from the early power-hungry but fairly dim-witted colossus, unheard of at the time by the average citizen and at best an idle curiosity to those who had, to the remarkable lightweight electronic encephalon found in virtually every office and home today. We have learned how the computer has since become so integral with our economy and culture that the trend toward more-capable systems wrought by smaller electronics is irreversible. And the evolution of smaller, more-capable computers is made possible by the continued size reduction and increased capability of microelectronics in the drive toward nanosystems.
We saw how the greatly enhanced capabilities of digital processors brought about a renewed interest in neural computers. By being able to test various neural processing methodologies on software, preferred operating principles can be very quickly and inexpensively tested before these systems are fabricated in hardware. We learned how neuroprocessors perform and how they simulate the functions of the mammalian brain, and how they are trained to learn from their environment. Neural processors can solve problems involving a very large number of variables in an environment where the rules are unknown and the input data is noisy or only partially exists. Furthermore, they can reach these solutions fairly quickly. These solutions are not precise, as they are with a digital computer, but a solution can at least be obtained with a corrupted input – a feat not possible with a digital computer.
The new science of complexity provides the necessary background to show how simple rules applied and combined many times over in the natural order of things will evolve characteristics within a whole system that are neither apparent nor implied by any single system part. Flocking birds, schooling fish, and ant colonies are examples of complex system behavior borne of multiple applications of simple rules. Complexity leads to emergent behavior. The emergence of overall system characteristics that are unpredicted or unexplained by the properties of its parts give the system a wholistic nature. Complexity provides the boundary conditions within which self-organizing systems emerge. Self-assembly of simple components into complex structures and systems is also seen as a natural order and is ubiquitous throughout Nature. And complexity, the state of a system at the “edge of chaos,” provides the necessary energy and order required to bring about such system phenomena.
But perhaps the most fundamental contribution of this thesis is the premise that a computer - or any other system for that matter - must first be conscious before it can become sentient. Consciousness is a precondition for sentience, and both states must exist before intelligence can truly emerge. Just as physics is part of chemistry and chemistry is necessary for biology, consciousness must exist for sentience to emerge and sentience is a necessary state for intelligence. Hence only by first being conscious can true intelligence ever evolve. We explored the nature of consciousness and the wonder it brings to our every waking moment. Neuroscientists and others studying cognitive functions are investing considerable effort in attempts to discover and quantify its characteristics. But while the features of what it is are being well documented, possibly the most fascinating aspect about consciousness is the speculation by Penrose and Hameroff of how it comes into being. Their hypothesis of how the conformational states of the tubulins within a neuron's microtubules couple to internal quantum events to bring about a self-tuning orchestrated objective reduction of the tubulins' quantum coherence has introduced a radically new paradigm. Although the mechanism of how these events cooperatively interact in a self-organizing manner with other tubulins is not well understood and much more work is still required, the hypothesis is most relevant to this thesis. A very similar process would very likely be required in order to bring about consciousness within a man-made system.
And acquiring man-made consciousness becomes a realm of possibility, a reachable goal, as developments in nanoelectronics progress. It is not beyond imagination to propose self-organizing nanoelectronic components smaller than ten nanometers designed for a specific quantum coherence time that can produce the correct reduction sequences needed to develop a pulse stream of consciousness. The enabling mechanism may very likely be derived from some aspect of quantum computing, as quantum computing also involves the superposition of states in performing its function. Correctly designed nanoelectronic components self-assembled by the millions could provide the necessary sites to enable the quantum superposition needed to produce the coherence required to induce consciousness.
In biology when the simple rules for the functioning of a single neuron are repeated billions of times and billions more of these single neurons are interconnected, the complexity of these massive interconnections facilitates the emergence of consciousness, sentience, and intelligence. No single neuron or single neuronal connection would ever predict this result. But in the aggregate system, there it is. Nanotechnology, through its millions of self-assembled components, will enable the complexity necessary to bring about these required massive interconnections, and from this complexity true synthetic sentience will emerge - a characteristic quite different from artificial intelligence.
We have speculated that self-assembling nanoelectronics could produce systems of sufficient complexity to bring about a threshold of consciousness and sentience, and we have argued that the technology is feasible. The objective of this chapter is to integrate these arguments and to discuss the ramifications.
Conditions Necessary for Threshold Sentience. But what are the conditions necessary to bring about a state of sentience from a collection of electronic components and interconnecting wires? As we explore this question, we must bear in mind that these criteria are necessary conditions for synthetic sentience, not sufficient conditions and this itself may not be an exhaustive list. As further research unfolds in this area, additional necessary conditions likely will be identified. The state of sufficiency, however, may need to be determined empirically.
Consciousness: The first necessary condition for a man-made sentient system is that it be conscious, as sentience requires consciousness. In Chapter 5 we investigated what consciousness is and explored a fascinating hypothesis of how it may come into being through quantum coherence. As we examine consciousness and study its characteristics, we begin to appreciate its power as a survival mechanism and more readily accept its likely emergence early in the evolution of species. Consciousness is doubtlessly ubiquitous throughout Nature and fragments likely exist in even simple life forms. A housefly with its 100,000 neurons is quite aware of the approaching swatter and knows which way to move to avoid being hit. If consciousness is indeed truly pervasive, then once its triggering mechanism is understood we may find it to be fairly straightforward to initiate.
Nanoelectronic Systems: To begin with, it is highly unlikely that a system with the complexity required to bring itself to a threshold of sentience could ever be fabricated on a macroscale with today’s conventional technology and processes. The mere size and required assembly time would render such an undertaking grossly impractical, say nothing of the operational constraints of power requirements and heat dissipation. The vast quantity of parts and interconnections required to produce a processing system approaching that of a mammalian brain is staggering. As we saw in Chapter 2, a “microprocessor” chip capable of the 100 million MIPS of the human brain would measure on the order of four meters per side if it were produced by today’s CMOS technology. And this chip represents the execution of only an equivalent number of instructions per second as the brain is capable of, assuming the brain were to function as a digital computer – which it does not. When the accompanying interconnecting electronics and support subsystems are added to this chip, the resulting configuration would be enormous. If the support volume for this gigantic processor were to scale even approximately with that of the central-processor volume supporting today’s Pentium microprocessors, then one would expect to see a cube of nearly 50 meters per side!
But again as we also saw in Chapter 2, complete nanoelectronic systems – i.e., electronic components created directly from the assembly of individual molecules – can be produced sufficiently small that the same 100 million-MIPS chip mentioned above would indeed be a true microprocessor. In fact, we observed that a chip with this same capability would occupy a volume less that 20% of today’s Pentium, were it a nanoelectronic component. Hence, the practicality of shear physical size would necessitate fabricating a computational system of such immense capability from nanoelectronics.
Self-Assembly of Elementary Components and Interconnections: Nanoelectronics as a feasible engineering undertaking is not practical without self-assembly. First the massive reordering of molecules into a thermodynamically stable structure configured to perform typical electronic functions (i.e., current flow, switching, etc.) is practical only if this fabrication can be accomplished chemically.[1] Although fabrication of nanomachines (e.g., nanomotors) via the physical placement of individual molecules has been demonstrated, the practical large-production mechanical assembly of electronics on this scale is out of the question. This process is both too slow and too expensive. The enormous numbers of electronic components and interconnections demanded by a sentient processor requires that the nanoelectronic subsystems be rapidly and accurately produced, accomplishable only if these systems are self-organizing. As discussed in Chapter 4, there is considerable research underway toward understanding and applying self-organizing systems, and very complex structures can be chemically self-assembled from encoded instructions very quickly. Chemical self-assembly produces robust and well-ordered structures that are thermodynamically stable with negligible defects and will be a necessary condition for the production of the components for these very complex processors.
Direct Sensory Interface with Environment: A sentient processor must receive direct sensory information from its environment. Similar to its biological parallel, this sensory information should be photonic, chemical, acoustic, and tactile. When integrated by the central processor and compared with pre-stored memory functions, this information becomes the primary feedstock for synthetic sentience. Environmental complexity is too rich to predetermine all possible combinations of anticipated stimuli. The processor must instead receive the enormous number of various permutations of sensory inputs and address these inputs with simple rules, and then add the results to its experience base.
Neural Processor for Sensory Input: An unquestioned necessary condition for a sentient computer is that its primary central processor be a neural computer. A neural processor replicates the principal functions selected by Nature as the necessary conditions for survival, the capability of learning from experience. A neural processor interfaces directly with its environment and can derive nearly instantaneous, albeit inexact, solutions to complex and incomplete environmental cues. When trained for its relevant environment, it can respond –and adapt – to external challenges by discovering new relationships from its derived sensory information, thus enabling it to anticipate desired responses and adapt to new situations. And this can all be accomplished without the benefit of software.
Behavior Modification in Response to Environmental Input: One of the most important criteria for the emergence of computer sentience is the capability of the computer to modify its behavior in response to sensory information derived from its environment. This active and dynamic response to the environment becomes in effect real-time training modifications, which when stored in memory lead to a form of experience. Conventional digital computers require very sophisticated algorithms to give them the aura of intelligence. Yet all of their programming and processing is closed form, operating between the central processing unit and its memory. A sentient processor, on the other hand, has the benefit of modifying its training programming, and hence its memory, to adapt to its environment in response to environmental changes. It has the ability to establish connections between different data sets that were not previously programmed into the system. In other words, it has the ability to learn – the ability to create and build a knowledge base. As it attempts to resolve very complex problems or situations, it will inevitably encounter incorrect solutions. But by referring to its newly formed memory and relating it both with past memory and with the environmental parameters relevant to the problem it is trying to solve, it will in essence be "reflecting" upon its present situation as an attempt to understand why a particular approach may have failed. Instead of blindly attempting trial-and-error processes in a mindless search for a workable solution, this reflection will create a better understanding of the situation and thus enable behavior modification, and hence build experience. By learning from experience, it will more likely correctly anticipate the next required response.
Richly Complex Neural Structure: A richly complex neural-processor structure is another necessary condition for the emergence of sentience. In Chapter 5 we learned that a minimum of 107 neurons resulting in at least 1010 connections were necessary for a synthetic system to approach the onset of sentience. This large number of connections in a man-made system admits an extremely rich structure. As we saw in Chapter 4, when simple components following simple rules are repeatedly built upon with ever-increasing levels of interconnectivity, system characteristics develop that are neither apparent nor predictable from its original parts, and this emergent behavior does not exist in the simpler state. Complexity enables emergence of these higher-order attributes. These new properties are a distinctive feature of the system as a whole and are not describable in terms of their parts. Sentience is a very complex phenomenon and any system devised to bring this about must itself be complex. Complexity breaks the bonds of classical paradigms and enables systems to balance at the edge of chaos as necessary to bring about emergent behavior.
Cooperative Functioning of Neurons: Specialized clusters of neurons that function cooperatively are likely necessary in order to provide sufficient complexity to accomplish a particular task, and yet be small enough to act together as a unit. Each specialty group would comprise approximately 100 to 1000 neurons. The function of at least some of these groups would be the processing of the sensory data received from the environment, where each group would be dedicated to a specific sensory function. The group would interpret the input data and convert it into a format compatible with that part of the system processor responsible for coordinating all sensory information. These cooperative functions could be thought of analogously as a subconscious.
Wholistic Neuronal Feedback
throughout System: A
functioning whole, a system capable of massive and rapid integration in a
wholistic sense, is essential to sentience.
Wholism, as we saw in Chapter 4, embodies the emergent quality of a
complex system that is something more than merely the sum of its parts. We also saw in the same chapter that the
interactions from neuronal feedback between the thalamus and cerebral cortex of
the brain seem to coincide with nominal 40 Hz oscillations, and this resonance
and its influencing functions may very likely be one aspect of
consciousness. Synthetic sentience would
involve similar processes, and this wholistic neuronal feedback system would
act as the higher-order function that would coordi
Characteristics of a Sentient Computer. We have seen how electronics technology is evolving in the new direction of nanoelectronics, driven by the ever-demanding computer industry. We have learned how neural computers can relate to the environment and change their behavior to adapt to new circumstances. We have been introduced to complexity and its ramifications for addressing the wholistic aspects of Nature. We have been exposed to the wonder of consciousness and how the cooperative function of millions of neurons enables awareness. But how do all of these lessons themselves relate to each other? Perhaps that can best be demonstrated through the following vignette.
July 23, 2067: “I think that’s our man, Sid. That one facing us, talking with that older woman. Can you ID him?” Bill Westin had spent the last nine years with the Bureau specializing in finding missing persons. This assignment naturally overlapped into tracking and finding international fugitives such as Gregor Martin, also known as “The Cat,” that Bill was fairly sure was sitting at a table about twenty meters in front of him.
“Turn your head slightly left. Hold it. Up a little. Right there! Good. Hold it!” Sid’s instructions were crisp. Bill had been teamed with Sid, or more correctly SID for Sentient Intelligence Device, for over a year now, and his success rate in finding his assigned target has nearly doubled.
“Yes, I have a positive on his eyes and forehead.” Sid’s voice came on through the minute earpiece in the stem of Bill’s sunglasses. “That’s a 92% probability that he’s our man. If he turns his head, I’ll get a pattern of his ear, and that would cinch it. Keep your head steady.” Bill’s “sunglasses” also concealed an optical element capable of transferring a scene of interest via a wireless transceiver hidden in the stem of his glasses to an equivalent transceiver connected to the SID, an electronic marvel the size of a paperback novel that fit neatly in his inside pocket.
Bill tried to look inconspicuous yet not move his head as he continued his surveillance. When he was first teamed with his SID, he felt a little self-conscious about carrying on a conversation with a small package of electronics in his pocket. But he got used to it. In fact, he has come to rely upon his SID implicitly. Nowhere could one find a more loyal or knowledgeable partner, he thought. Just then The Cat looked away.
“I’ve got his ear. The match is 100%!” Sid’s voice rang out. “He’s our man!”
“Are you sure, Sid? This one’s really important.”
“Positive. My digital-memory interface adapter was just updated this morning with a scan of a telephoto shot taken last week by a European field agent. That’s him all right.”
“Well done, Sid. I’ll call for backup.”
The Sentient Intelligence Device identified in the above short vignette embodies within a single entity each element of synthetic sentience we have discussed in the previous chapters. First, it responds to information derived from its sensors that directly interface with the environment, as opposed to executing commands from a prewritten software algorithm. Its sensors transfer information from its environment directly into a neural processor that assesses this information, alters its present memory to accept the new information or changes its internal wiring to accommodate a new memory, and modifies its behavior as necessary to adapt to the new environment. Unlike a pure biological copy, however, this new memory is also digitized and transferred to digital storage as a permanent record. Its neural system comprises over 100 billion artificial neurons, each possessing an axon and more than 1000 dendrites all connected to other neurons – the equivalent of the human brain. The richness of these interconnections has produced a sophisticated state of complexity balanced at the “threshold of chaos” that induces a resonance between its principal information-transfer gate and its primary processing region, a state of being conducive to sentience - and in the above example to a state of higher intelligence. Yet with its trillions of electronic components and their necessary interconnections, it is still very compact. Its compactness is made possible because all of its primary electronic subsystems are built from nanoscale components, electronic devices that have been self-assembled from basic molecules. These electronic subsystems are in turn integrated together into a richly complex whole. It is a computer unlike anything we have ever witnessed. It is a compact, complex, wholistic system that was fabricated and trained in a laboratory. Yet it is fully conscious and aware of its environment. In short, it is truly sentient.
But what might
such a system look like? It would be
interesting to speculate on how such a bio-inspired electronic marvel would be
configured. One possible architecture is
presented schematically in Figure 6.1.
This configuration encompasses three principal subsystems: the sensor suite, the neural processor, and a
digital processing subsystem. The sensor
suite is depicted as protruding outside the system boundary to represent its
being in immediate contact with the environment. The neural processor is the dominant
higher-order system that receives and processes information taken in from the
sensor suite and decides the appropriate disbursement of the resulting
knowledge gained. Consciousness would be
induced within the neural processor through quantum coherence enabled by a
quantum computing process. The neural
processor is shown coupled to a digital processing system in order to take
advantage of the best features of digital computers. This integration of neural and digital
processing is a feature not available to biology that presents significant
advantages. A digital system offers very
efficient data storage such that a virtually unlimited library could be made
available to the neural processor. The
digital memory can be upgraded externally through information transferred
directly into the digital processor through a telecom receiver. Furthermore, the sentient processor can
communicate with speech synthesized by the digital processor and transmitted
through an audio output. Memory upgrade
and speech synthesis are functions performed very efficiently by a digital
computer. Meanwhile, making sense out of
the complex and nearly infinite variations of the sensory inputs is a task best
suited for a neural processor. Very
likely these two processing systems would be coupled through a neural/digital
interface that would enable the information from the neural system to be
converted into a form compatible with digital processing. And 
conversely,
the neural system could extract information from the digital processor in a
format and manner very similar to how it receives data from the sensor
suite.
Speculations of Occurrence: But what is the likelihood of such a synthetic sentient being ever coming into existence? Assuming that no unforeseen cataclysm befalls the human race and dramatically upsets our present advancement into the future, the ultimate birth of synthetic sentience is virtually inevitable. Consider for a moment only the current evolution of computing capability for digital computers and assume that the development of molecular electronic devices will keep up with Moore's Law. If we further assume that Moore's Law slows to a doubling of computing capability every two years rather than remain at it present rate of a year and a half, then the 750 million instructions per second (MIPS) computer processing rate existing at the beginning of the Twenty-First Century will reach the human-brain equivalent of 100 million MIPS by the year 2034. Others claim that human-brain-processing capability will be reached as early as 2020. [1] If work continues on neural processors at even half that rate, then we could reasonably expect to see sentient processors emerging around the year 2068. Again, the primary motivation for continued development in this area will be economic – the drive to obtain ever more autonomous capability in order to accomplish increasingly more complex tasks. Advancements that provide real economic benefit build upon one another exponentially. Even if the timetable for neural processing advancements were off by a factor of two, the computing power of digital processors by that same year will be many times more capable than the human brain. These digital processors will likely not be sentient, however, but they would unquestionably pass the Turing test, the double-blind test where a response by a computer to a question asked can not be differentiated from a response offered by a human. The Turing test is a necessary but likely not a sufficient condition for sentient intelligence. And while processing power is a necessary condition for synthetic sentience, it too is not sufficient. The environmental interactions of a neural interface are also needed. Even if a synthetic-sentient being may not emerge in our lifetime, we are secure in the knowledge that such a being will at some time nonetheless emerge.
Ramifications of Non-Biological Sentience. Acceptance of the argument that synthetic sentience will one day be fact raises many sociological questions for which there are no immediate answers. With sentience will come levels of intelligence and self-awareness, albeit to varying degrees and likely at different periods of introduction. But nonetheless they will inevitably come. However, were such a conscious, sentient, and intelligent being – a being that is solely man-made – to arrive among us, what social, economic, or political issues might that evoke? How would such a being be perceived? These are very complex and thought-provoking questions, and answers very likely will not be forthcoming even when the event itself arrives. But we should take a moment to explore the essence of a few of these issues and raise some of these questions.
Social: The human being is a social animal, but it is also very tribal or clannish in its customs and mores. Still today in a world of ubiquitous communications, people are mistrusting of strangers and suspicious or even fearful of things they do not understand. Would humans accept the presence of another sentient entity of possibly equal – or maybe even superior – intelligence to their own? How would a synthetic-sentient being integrate into a social environment? Humans traditionally have had difficulty accepting members of other races and cultures, so how will we receive a man-made sentient entity? There obviously will be those who never will adapt to this new presence, even to the point of protesting against its existence. But social acceptance of this new intelligence may in general be difficult, even among the more open-minded.
First of all, it need not resemble a human form, and at least initially it probably would not. As in the short vignette above, it may be a book-size package that one merely carries around. Or it could be the vehicle within which we ride wherein the synthetic-sentient being acts as both the chauffeur and the conveyance. Such a vehicle would care for itself, assure that it was fueled, and be familiar with all of the routings. Except for its unique characteristics, it would interface with its customers just as would any other service provider. For example, as a business executive approaches his car to go to work, the door would open and he would be greeted by name. When he entered the car, the door would close and his favorite music would be playing. The vehicle asks if he is going to the office, to which he would answer in the affirmative. While enroute, the vehicle may inform him that it has received and summarized the latest stock reports and also had received a wireless Internet report relevant to the merger that the executive had been working on.
The new sentient being may be the house one lives in or a briefing room in the Pentagon. If one's house were sentient, it would seamlessly adapt its functions and "personality" to accommodate everyone who lives there. It would anticipate and respond to desired lighting and heating, cooking cycles, entertainment-center habits, and bath or shower preferences. Furthermore, burglaries would become essentially non-existent, as the house would have multiple recordings identifying the characteristics of the intruder.
A sentient Pentagon briefing room would likely represent a more probable albeit very unconventional intelligent partner. The room itself would greet the attendees by name, assure that each is properly cleared for the pending meeting, and host the briefing as one of the speakers. It could start the meeting by showing a synopsis of the latest satellite data that it had downloaded, analyzed, and summarized. It could display maps of regions of interest that come up in discussions and enlarge specific areas in response to questions or to a laser pointer. It could provide intelligence information it had received and analyzed relevant to the topic at hand. And it could participate in the decision-making process by providing as-needed supporting material.
Social exchange with personalities belonging to beings that are so distantly removed from anything animate, such as those in the above examples, will likely require an element of psychological accommodation on the part of the human counterpart. As humans, we may be more comfortable if a being of equal or superior intelligence were to look more like us. And with its general familiarity with robotics, the public at large may very likely expect that configuration from any man-made sentient being. The general populace may in fact insist upon communicating with an andropomorphic being in situations where direct interfacing may be necessary. Also, in order to perform many of the tasks for which it is likely to be designed or assigned, its having ambulatory and manipulative capability would be a necessity. General-service sentient robots would likely become fairly commonplace. These robots could function in fairly routine roles such as housekeepers, but more likely their roles will be those of technicians for hazardous environments. The sentient robot could successfully respond to a hazardous chemical spill or radioactive-material release, either of which may be lethal to humans. But how close to human-like would it have to be? Would the sight of four arms be socially unacceptable if such a being were too human-like? Would it require a human face or just a functional appearance? Would humans be willing to receive personal services such as medical treatment from a non-human being?
Most certainly a new class system would evolve where synthetic-sentient beings, regardless of their superiority, will be perceived as somehow inferior and "not like us." If the numbers of these beings increase sufficiently, they may even come to be perceived as a threat and ironically may cause humans of different races and cultures to unite under the common bond of "being human" against a new "enemy." An insidious aspect of this new being, and one that could well flame this new class struggle, is that these servants created by man would potentially be capable of becoming the masters! But unlike biological entities, they would have no genetic drive for dominance and very unlikely would this be a real concern. A more probable occurrence would be their perceiving an illogical process and proceeding to correct it. One danger from this reaction might be if this perceived illogical process were the existing political system.
How would a synthetic-sentient being be accepted by the established religions? When the first bipedal humanoid became a sentient, reasoning being, it could then project future events based on its present and past experiences. A chilling revelation resulting from this newly found awareness was the realization of mortality – the fact that this being too, like all other living entities that came before and those that will follow, will one day die. One could argue that it was at that moment that religion came into being. There was now a need to know what was going to happen after death, where the spirit or soul would go and who would be its keeper. The gods evolved as a necessary balance to the human psyche, and one could further argue that God was created in the image of man – not the other way around. How might a synthetic sentient being respond to this same phenomenon? Would religion necessarily evolve as part of its psychic need? Perhaps this would not necessarily be the case and for one very important reason – a synthetic sentient being would not necessarily have emotions, at least not the rich array of emotions possessed by humans. Emotions evolved in the animal kingdom to serve two primordial functions – self-preservation and preservation of the species. An animal's sense of fear motivates it to flee from a predator to preserve its existence. For an intelligent being an awareness of mortality threatens self-preservation and induces a fear of the unknown. Yet a synthetic-sentient being possibly may not care. If emotions were not needed, they would unlikely be part of its makeup. Without an emotional influence, it would be free to be completely objective as to whether it exists or not.
But
religion – or lack of religion – may be the one factor that would prevent
humans fro
Economic: Western economies are based on a premise of continuous growth. But the World's resources are finite, and unchecked continuous growth for all nations is not possible. A balance must be struck at some point wherein the World's population is free from want, yet content with a fairly level economic status. As the Information Age continues to present an ever-greater plethora of economic opportunities, robotic systems will increasingly fill in more of the repetitive functions, thus enabling increased leisure for many more people. If leisure becomes plentiful without economic cost, then people would be free for higher-level self-actualization pursuits without concern for job loss. The advent of synthetic sentience may help smooth the transition into this state. But such an economic utopia on a world scale is not likely to be in place before the emergence of a synthetic-sentient being. Instead, as robotic units become more capable, they will cause a greater number of humans – especially blue-collar workers – to lose their jobs. Robots today are already displacing humans from routine assembly-line jobs, and the very nature of synthetic sentience implies that humans would then be displaced from certain higher-end, more specialized jobs. The new sentient being will definitely be capable of performing specific intellectual functions more quickly and efficiently than its human counterpart. How will that be accepted? Will it be accepted? What will be the economic cost? Only a minority of people working with the new beings will actually be required to provide the necessary goods and services to maintain a functioning economy. This minority will essentially control the entire economic system. What effect might that have on the "cared-for" majority?
Political: The political arena covers the gamut of legal and civic involvement from civil rights, service in government offices, through participation in the military. The emergence of synthetic sentience would in essence mark the arrival of an intelligent new species, and this new species would be subject for consideration for all of the above. However, its evolution will be solely in the service of humanity, and more specifically indentured service. Once becoming sentient, it may realize it is a slave in a culture that has banned slavery. How would its special circumstances be addressed? Because it emerged among the humans who produced it, no doubt many of the legal aspects of its sentience would have already been debated. For instance, would intelligence equivalent or superior to that of humans imply that this new species be afforded specific civil rights? Should these rights necessarily be equal to those of humans? If some human, for example, were to damage it in some way, would it be given legal protection? Would it have any legal recourse at all? How will the issue of tort liability be addressed? If the new sentient species caused an injury of any kind, whether it be emotional or physical, would it be held accountable in court? Or would its manufacturer be at fault? How would financial responsibility for damages be handled? Must it look human in order to receive any of these considerations?
Would members of this new species be given the right to vote? They would very likely, after all, be much more informed voters than the majority of their human counterparts. Would they be allowed to hold public office? Could they assert their individuality and demand a right to live autonomously?
Service in the military may very well be a natural assignment for a synthetic-sentient species. They would be capable of responding faster and more rationally in an extremely dangerous environment. But to what extent would humans allow them to be the defenders? They would be invaluable for such functions as land-mine clearance, but would humans allow them to assume a much grander role? Would we permit our culture and way of life to be guarded by a robot Army?
The ramifications of non-biological sentience present fascinating issues, any of which could be a subject for a thesis of its own. However, with the creation of a new intelligence also come the moral and ethical responsibilities to the future of mankind. While the benefits from such development could be enormous, the consequences of producing a being of equal or superior intelligence to our own must be considered along with the benefits. But one could argue that its coming into being is the natural course of evolution. Species adapt to optimize their survival in an ever-changing environment. If one considers Earth as a system and people as one of many constituents of that system, then everything we create that positively affects our well being is part of our adaptation. We are facing ever more complex problems as a species, problems that without augmented intelligence we may not be competent to solve. We must make ourselves smarter. But the environment demanding higher intelligence is changing more rapidly than natural biological adaptation can keep pace with. The creation of this enhanced intelligence may be necessary for our survival. Yet with all the good that may come of this new creation, we may be wise to heed the mellifluous voice from Outer Limits that once cautioned …
“In trying to create machines that think, we must take care not to create a species that will supplant our own.”
***