Robot Brains
Circuits and Systems for Conscious Machines
Chapter One
Introduction
1.1 GENERAL INTELLIGENCE AND CONSCIOUS MACHINES
Suppose that you were going to see a conscious machine, perhaps a robot. What
would you expect to see? Recent advances in robotics have produced animal and
humanoid robots that are able to move in very naturalistic ways. Would you find
these robots conscious? I do not think so. As impressive as the antics of these
artefacts are, their shortcoming is easy to see; the lights may be on, but there is
'nobody' at home. The program-controlled microprocessors of these robots do not
have the faintest trace of consciousness and the robots themselves do not know
what they are doing. These robots are no more aware of their own existence than a
cuckoo clock on a good day.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has brought chess-playing computer programs that can
beat grand masters and other 'intelligent' programs that can execute given specific
tasks. However, the intelligence of these programs is not that of the machine; instead
it is the intelligence of ... read full excerpt from Robot Brains: Circuits and Systems for Conscious Machines ebook
