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Why was the “My computer is sentient” thread deleted?

DingoJones November 12, 2019 at 12:50 11175 views 26 comments Questions
Im curious what the reason is, as the criteria for what counts as a worthwhile topic is mysterious to me. There are other topics trucking along that I would consider just as unworthy. Its confusing what gets the axe sometimes.

Comments (26)

Baden November 12, 2019 at 13:33 ¶ #351563
Reply to DingoJones

From what I can see in the changelog, @jamalrob deleted it, presumably for low quality.
DingoJones November 12, 2019 at 13:46 ¶ #351564
Reply to Baden

Presumably, I just wondered about the criteria. To me, if a thread is generating discussion it has merit even if the topic or OP is of low quality. Why is there yet another anti-natalist thread going strong yet this other guy gets shut down almost immediately?
Baden November 12, 2019 at 13:53 ¶ #351567
Reply to DingoJones

For more detail >> jamalrob.
Terrapin Station November 12, 2019 at 14:29 ¶ #351580
Reply to Baden

Maybe have jamalrob speak for himself if he's doing the deleting? At least that way one can get a more substantial answer.
SophistiCat November 12, 2019 at 14:45 ¶ #351582
Quoting DingoJones
To me, if a thread is generating discussion it has merit even if the topic or OP is of low quality.


My observation is that the only threads that may not generate discussion are those with a very narrow focus, such as concerning a specific philosophical work - and those can actually be high-quality posts. Low quality threads tend to generate discussion, if only for people to comment on their low quality or to post easy takedowns.
Jamal November 12, 2019 at 14:51 ¶ #351584
Reply to DingoJones I deleted it for low quality.

My computer is sentient, you can not deny it!

What if I say a PC becomes conscious the moment you connect it with a monitor and it displays some content. Then I can say, look, there it is its qualia right there on the display, that's what it thinks, that's what it feels. It does not feel like we do in terms of pain and desire, but in terms of geometry of overlapping densities of magnetic and electric fields, however is that supposed to feel.

How can you deny this sentience?


It seems more like a passing thought than a philosophical thesis or discussion-point. A lot of work has been done in philosophy of mind, cognitive science, and so on, but this OP didn't acknowledge any of that.

If I haven't seen a discussion before it has generated a lot of comments, I will sometimes leave it even if it's low quality. In this case, it hadn't generated much discussion when I saw it.
Baden November 12, 2019 at 15:16 ¶ #351587
Reply to Terrapin Station

Unfortunately, chrome ignore doesn't work on mobile, so I saw your pointless comment. I'll leave it to you to work out why tagging a moderator in order that they may sooner be aware of a query relevant to them could be of utility to the one making the query. Take your time.
Terrapin Station November 12, 2019 at 15:17 ¶ #351588
Reply to jamalrob

Is there some reason we're so tight on space that we can't leave however many kilobytes of text intact?

You'd need to delete the vast majority of threads and posts here on the criteria you mention. But it seems like a problem with this board is that it's relatively inactive--not that many different threads or posts per day, and that's probably one reason we have problems attracting and retaining new people who post regularly.
Terrapin Station November 12, 2019 at 15:18 ¶ #351589
Reply to Baden

lol re not taking responsibility for posting vacuous responses in a thread like this.
Baden November 12, 2019 at 15:19 ¶ #351590
Reply to Terrapin Station

Stop trolling.
DingoJones November 12, 2019 at 15:20 ¶ #351592
Reply to jamalrob

Well you killed it in its infancy, it hadnt had much time to develop. I understand though, there are probably way too many such threads to let each one develop.
What is the criteria? If he had been more organised In the OP, would that have saved his thread? There are threads with more organised OP but lack any real substance or are just a repetition of a topic thats been done to death (again, The anti natalist one comes to mind), and those seem to be allowed.
Im just curious about what counts as worthwhile to you, given what I see being allowed. Seems inconsistent, though I do realise that could be due to the sheer volume you have to sort through.
I like sushi November 12, 2019 at 15:29 ¶ #351600
It was a poorly thought out and poorly worded thread. I guess if a repeat thread was made asking about what does and doesn’t qualify as ‘sentient’ as well as exploring AI and consciousness, then it might not look so redundant.

It is a popular enough topic to warrant something new to offer and/or a particular argument posed.
Terrapin Station November 12, 2019 at 15:32 ¶ #351604
Quoting I like sushi
It was a poorly thought out and poorly worded thread.


List the threads here that are not.
I like sushi November 12, 2019 at 15:53 ¶ #351622
Reply to Terrapin Station Pretty much all the ones not deleted? Take look and compare them.

The one about populism has some thought behind it, the one about math and prob too. I could list them, or you could just take a look yourself?
3017amen November 12, 2019 at 16:03 ¶ #351626
Reply to DingoJones

I think maybe if you would have linked it to artificial intelligence, which is an emerging topic, you would have had more success. You know, robots, driverless cars/trucks/commerce... .
DingoJones November 12, 2019 at 16:51 ¶ #351649
Reply to 3017amen

It wasnt my thread.
Chris Hughes November 12, 2019 at 23:57 ¶ #351796
Reply to I like sushi
if a repeat thread was made asking about what does and doesn’t qualify as ‘sentient’ as well as exploring AI and consciousness, then it might not look so redundant.

It is a popular enough topic to warrant something new to offer and/or a particular argument posed.


Good point. Someone should have done that: recallibrate the discussion.
Zelebg November 13, 2019 at 00:20 ¶ #351808
Perhaps I should have explained the parallel with the brain in detail. Anyway, the point was that our definitions are far too wide to grasp the concept, and I think PC-monitor example precisely points where we need to dig deeper and be more specific in order to understand _what is_ consciousness or sentience, not just what it does and how it works.

I don’t even see any ideas trying to explain ‘what is’ question. We are creating an AI hoping sentience just might pop up somewhere in there, but we have no idea what to look for or where exactly. It could be right under our noses, right in front of us on our computer screens and we would not know it.
Zelebg November 13, 2019 at 00:50 ¶ #351820
This reminded of Starflight game fom DOS days, where the fuel they used for interstellar travell turned out to be sentient lifeform.
god must be atheist November 13, 2019 at 01:28 ¶ #351830
Quoting SophistiCat
My observation is that the only threads that may not generate discussion are those with a very narrow focus, such as concerning a specific philosophical work - and those can actually be high-quality posts.


Is there a metric for quality of posts? I think not.
god must be atheist November 13, 2019 at 01:34 ¶ #351831
Quoting 3017amen
I think maybe if you would have linked it to artificial intelligence, which is an emerging topic, you would have had more success. You know, robots, driverless cars/trucks/commerce... .


Or connect it to love... or Love. What is Love? How does it differ from a computer keyboard? THAT's what would have made an interesting question.
god must be atheist November 13, 2019 at 01:40 ¶ #351836
Whoa... @DingoJones makes in the OP as if he had started the sentient computer thread. And now we have @Zelebg take ownership of the topic.

Is it possible to have two monikers and two different identities to be possessed by the same one person on this site?

Or maybe I am missing some big and important information... like that @Zelebg has contributed to the by now deleted thread big time, although it had been started by @DingoJones. Or the other way around.

At any rate, I don't know what the upset is about. The thread is alive and well and is generating responses as we speak on philosophy now. The site.
Chris Hughes November 13, 2019 at 01:40 ¶ #351837
Reply to god must be atheist

An interesting question is one that people respond to. If the OP is poor, but gets a response, a responder can reframe it, and rescue it from deletion.

What time is love? THAT's what would have made an interesting question. :wink:
Pfhorrest November 13, 2019 at 01:42 ¶ #351838
Reply to god must be atheist DingoJones already said that it wasn’t his thread.
god must be atheist November 13, 2019 at 01:42 ¶ #351839
Quoting Chris Hughes
What time is love?


Apparently all males have an erection at 4 in the morning. Ruth told me that. They are asleep at the time, so it's all wasted. I don't know if this applies to men with ED.
god must be atheist November 13, 2019 at 01:42 ¶ #351840
Reply to Pfhorrest Thanks, I am stupid.