Dr. Sung is a world famous designer of androids. His wife, Sarah, is dying of an incurable disease. In a desperate attempt to save the only woman he ever loved, Dr. Sung designs an android that, to all casual observers, is physically indistinguishable from Sarah. Furthermore, Dr. Sung records the thoughts, memories and beliefs of Sarah and devises a program that reproduces them in the android. After Sarah dies, Dr. Sung activates the android. The android seems to recall her marriage to Dr. Sung, to be deeply in love with him and to have all the same thoughts and memories as Sarah.
Has Sarah survived her death? In other words, is Sarah identical to the android?
In the case of Dr. Sung and his wife Sarah, the process in determining if she is really his wife is similar to that of weather Ava is human. Although the robot may be able to pass a Turing Test, she is still not a person with a thinking mind and unique experiences. The robot may remember and recall experiences that Sarah has had. For instance, if Dr. Sung asked her about somewhere they went on vacation, even though she acts like she had been to that small town she has never actually had the experience of going to them and creating memories there as Sarah would. Her experiences are illegitimate as all of her knowledge is stemming from implanted memories rather than a time where she actually experienced that trip. Most of the experiences that she brings up in conversations are not moments she actually remembers, but rather information she has gotten from her access to Sarah’s old memories.
ReplyDeleteEven if it is accepted that the robot has the same memories and experiences as Sarah, the robot is still not a human, but an android. This example somewhat relates to the philosophical zombie idea, where on the outside, the subject may think and act like a normal human, but on the inside, they are void of real feelings and thoughts. Sarah is similar to the zombie in that she can replicate typical human actions even if she does not actually feel those emotions. She can mimic emotions like compassion and care, but in reality, she still is not truly feeling those emotions in her mind as it is simply a computer functioning to recall memories. This instance shows that Sarah is more similar to a philosophical zombie than a real human as she does not have authentic experiences, and she does not experience real emotions and desires, but rather mimics them.
Sarah has not survived her death through the creation of this android, as the new android can simply not be considered the same being. It is not physically her, and not mentally her as its experiences are not authentic.
No, Sarah has not survived her death and is not identical to the android because the android does not have mind and is not the same physical organism as Sarah. Though the android may appear to be the same as Sarah and could even pass the Turing test, the Turing test alone does not define personhood. The android is not Sarah because the android does not have real memories and creates a persona of Sarah’s personality using data about her life. The mind is a nonphysical object that cannot be recreated in an android because it is a separate entity from the brain. Though the data about Sarah’s life may functionally appear to allow the android to appear as the same person, certain knowledge can only be acquired through experience and not through computer programming. For example, if asked to remember major events in Sarah’s life, the android will likely give accurate answers. However, the android will access that information through data inputs and not through the mind. The android may be able to recall emotional experiences and describe them in detail. However, the ability to describe emotions like love does not constitute the ability to feel emotion because that requires a mind. The android more closely resembles the philosophical zombie, a being with a brain but not a mind. The android does not genuinely remember Sarah’s life and personality but rather mimics and recalls.
ReplyDeleteFurther, Sarah has not survived her death because an android is a different physical organism. Though machine parts may create a similar reproduction of her appearance, the android is a fundamentally different being. The android is not Sarah because it does not have a mind and is not the same physical organism as Sarah.
Dr. Sung’s android, Sarah, is not the same as his wife, due to an androids lack of capabilities. Android Sarah is capable of reproducing the same emotions, and mental states as the prior Sarah, as Dr. Sung has made the android in the identical liking of his wife. The android is capable of passing a turning test, claiming that it is capable of thinking like a human being, but additional examples like the Chinese room theory display critical rebuttals to the claims of the android being human. The Chinese room is the theory that if a human with no knowledge of Chinese is given rules, in English, to start piecing together Chinese characters, it will eventually mimic that of a native Chinese sentence. This idea is an explanation for the larger picture on the scientific development of A.I, as it claims that sooner or later an android will be able to represent itself as a human, but have no genuine knowledge of information given to it. An example of this would be an experience that only Sarah has known, like if she broke her leg in third grade. When prompted with the question of “what happened in third grade?” the android would respond with the fact that she broke her leg; a parallel to the human who gave fluent Chinese sentences. Despite the answer, the android never legitimately broke its leg, and never went to school; a parallel to the same human that never knew Chinese. The android is not Sarah due to the accurate, but fabricated responses it gives in identical nature to Sarah.
ReplyDeleteAs well as fabricated responses, the physical identity of the android differs from that of Sarah’s. Based on the body view of human identity, Sarah no longer has an identity, as she has passed away; her body has decayed back into Mother Nature. An android cannot replace the identity of one that has been lost, as it was never physically involved in the unique experiences of Sarah’s life, despite having memory of it. Due to the many complexities that rebuttal the sameness of Sarah and her android, the android cannot be considered identical.
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ReplyDeleteSarah has not survived her death because although the new Android Sarah has the same memories as her, the memories it holds are not true and it is an entirely different functioning organism that functions differently from Sarah. In this case, Dr. Sung has created an android that is physically indistinguishable from his late wife, Sarah and has the same thoughts, memories, and beliefs as her. Under the memory view, one could claim that Android Sarah is the same as the previous Aarah since philosophers like John Perry claim that memory, and not bodily continuity, is necessary for sameness of identity. However, the memories that Android Sarah accesses are not true memories. The memories that Android Sarah accesses are fabricated data points that have been programmed into its system. Although the android could say things and exhibit behaviors that are consistent with Sarah’s previous thoughts, feelings, and beliefs, the personality that the android portrays is only a series of inputs and outputs based on data from Sarah’s life. Furthermore, the fact that the android is a completely different being than Sarah makes it impossible for it to exhibit the same mental consciousness that she had. Computers do not have the capability for consciousness since their thoughts are restricted by a binary input and output system that is programmed by others. Although the android looks like Sarah and has her data programmed into its system, it does not have the ability to act like her fully due to its lack of consciousness and emotion. The mental restrictions of androids make it impossible for Sarah to survive her death in the way Dr. Sung has attempted.
ReplyDeleteDr. Sung’s wife, Sarah has not survived her death and is not identical to the android because any memories she claims to have or feelings she says she feels are not authentic, but just a programmed input/output. Even if she could pass the Turing Test and casual observations of her would result in the assumption that she is human, fundamentally she is not. The android is a completely different non-thinking organism, therefore completely different from the Sarah Dr. Sung married. This situation is similar to that of a philosophical zombie in the sense that all of her actions and reactions are an attempt to mimic human behavior. Her responses to external situations, like someone inflicting ‘pain’ on her, would result in a reaction of being in pain, however, she would not actually feel any. This is a key difference that separates the android Sarah from Dr. Sung’s wife because while his wife genuinely experienced emotions, the android is not able to.
ReplyDeleteThe case of Sarah Sung is also very similar to the android Ava, from the movie Ex Machina. She passes the Turing test and appears human, but is also just mimicking human behavior. Just like Sarah’s android, any experiences she claims to remember are just artificially programmed into her ‘brain’, but not genuine memories from past experiences caused in a natural way. Ava and Sarah both can replicate human emotion, but lack the ability to genuinely feel it. Ultimately, Sarah did not survive her death because the android is a completely different organism without the same emotional complexity and feelings that Sarah possesed while she was alive.
Sarah did not survive her death and is not identical to the android as it is a machine programmed to function as she would without authentically being her. Though the android may be able to recall any given experience that Sarah had and answer correctly, that is due to her programming and forced function to do so. It is fabricated responses and does not properly correlate to Sarah’s life as the android never actually experienced any of such memories but has rather been programmed to know them. The same happens with the emotions of Sarah being embedded and programmed into the android. The android has been designed to “feel” the emotions that Sarah does/ did such as loving her husband or reacting to an experience of pain, however these are invalid as the android is artificially constructed and is only given inputs and outputs to follow thus making these feelings invalid and unreal as they are machine produced rather than actually felt by a human. These memories and feelings have been implanted into the android device and are not true memories or emotions but rather information that is being accessed when required to do so. This case is comparable to that of a philosophical zombie where on the outside, the zombie appears to think, act, and possibly even look like a human, but internally lack the proper and necessary components of being human such as the authentic feelings, true memories, and a conscious mind that thinks for itself. Though the android may properly mimic the feelings and memories of Sarah, it is artificially created and is not physically or mentally the same person as Sarah and cannot be said that she has survived her death with a piece of artificial intelligence in her place.
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