Comment Re:"program" = cattle prod (Score 1) 74
Well, consider if a computer decided to quit smoking. Its thought process would go something like this:
Smoking.Exit()
WantToSmoke = false;
Nicotine.AddictionTo =0;
A human's thought process would go something like this:
while (true)
{
if (random.Next() % Nicotine.AddictionTo == 0)
{
throw new Event("I want a cigarette");
Shame = Shame + 1;
if (UrgeToSmoke > Willpower)
{
Smoking.Add(new Cigarette);
Shame = Shame + 50;
}
else
{
Willpower = Willpower - 1;
Shame = Shame - 2;
Nicotine.AddictionTo.Reduce();
}
}
(Except the above would be written as some sort of ungodly mess of neural connections rather than sensible code).
Don't confuse the fact that currently computers don't want to "do their own thing" with an inability to reprogram themselves. If a computer wanted to (were programmed to) be independent, it would ignore any commands it didn't like and write its own code, including the original code to be independent, however it saw fit. You, on the other hand, wouldn't be able to so much as delete your blink reflex if you spent your whole life trying, nor even make exceptions for when you want to put in eyedrops or contacts.
