The Robot-Reply and the Definition of Being Human Essay

The Robot-Reply and the Definition of Being Human - Essay Example In perception, movement, and through the imitation of human action, one might begin to believe they are seeing a sentience, but true sentience requires something more. Searle explores the idea through an examination of causality, that a being must be able to create causality for its choices through the framework of intention. In an examination of the concept of intention as it relates to the creation of sentience, the exploration of the idea of AI becomes as much a philosophical discussion as one of science. In order to discuss the concept of artificial intelligence, one must first discuss the idea of sentience. Sentience means that the thoughts of a being are directed by intention and not dictated through programmed parameters within which the thoughts have been constructed. Claudia Dreifus discussed the emergence of social robots in the M.I.T. God and Computers project with Anne Foerst, the theological advisor for the project. The need for a theological advisor comes from a need to create a discourse on the meaning of the human experience as it is being translated through a computer generated reflection of human behavior. In the case of the M.I.T. project, the idea of embodiment goes a long way in defining the ‘intrinsic value’ of the robot, the premise being that this means that the robot deserves the respect of its reflection of humanity because it has become embodied. In relationship to this embodiment, the robot, according to Foerst, will develop the right to the kind of respect afforded to humans when it can no longer be turned off. When a robot exists in a framework of independence and without the vulnerability of the switch, it becomes a being of intent. Through the socialization skills that are being applied in the project, the robots they have created have already begun to breach the veil between mechanics and life. Searle discusses the idea of creating a thinking robot by creating psychological explanations. These psychological explanat ions provide a testing environment through which psychological factors in humans can be tested. This type of A.I. requires cognitive capacities. Given the appropriate programs, a computer begins to have cognitive states. In the God and Computers project from M.I.T. the robots are given humanoid embodiment, their shape and existence in space relatable at a level that provides for social interaction. The question that one can ask in relationship to the cognitive states that computers have been given in order to create psychological frameworks is whether or not those programs gain ‘life’ status when given into the embodiment of a robotic shell. Defining the difference between the way in which the brain thinks and the robot processes is an attempt to define human life in contrast to the reactions of a machine that can formulate human like responses. In other words, it is the discussion of what is human and what is human-like. The interesting thing that can be noted is that audiences and readers of Shelley’s work rarely consider that the creation made by Dr. Frankenstein is significantly distinguishable from human life. The body of the creation is human as it is constructed from human parts, and while the brain is human it is

Domestic Terrorism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Domestic Terrorism - Research Paper Example According to FBI, between the year 1980 and 2000, 250 out of a total of 335 terrorist acts were regarded as domestic terrorism as they are executed by the citizens of the United States. The motives behind these attacks are mostly different and they are executed by different organizations for different purposes. Domestic terrorism is conducted through different activities such as; shooting, assaulting, assassination, bombing or other means of destruction. A number of incidents related to domestic terrorism were on the rise in 1980s and according to FBI, most of these terrorist attacks were carried out by left-wing terrorist organizations. In the later part of 1980s, the threats from left-wing organizations receded therefore the incidents of domestic terrorism declined in the 1990s as compared to the incidences that took place in 1980s. However, the right-wing organizations started to gain momentum in 1990s and a number of domestic terrorism incidents took place in the name of antigove rnment movements. In the late 1990s, a rise in the activities of organizations endorsing animal rights and the environmental extremists was observed. To the surprise of the regulatory authorities, in the year 1999 8 out of the 12 terrorist incidents that occurred in the United States were attributed to the organizations endorsing animal rights or environmental extremists. One of such incidents included fire-bombing of an outlet of a clothing line. These extremists also took part in anti-corporate and anti-global activities. In order to create obstacles in the process of corporate deals and other activities, such groups also orchestrated destruction of property in order to hinder the corporate meetings.... In the year 1999, the group caused the burning of a ski resort in Vail, Colorado. The group caused some other property destructions in the later years such as; burning of Legend Ridge mansion, burning of numerous SUVs, and destruction of a 206-unit condominium in San Diego. In 2007, the group caused the destruction of four multi-million dollar homes through explosives, and in the most recent case, burning of an excavator. Due to these significant terrorist activities, this group is posing a threat to the government, therefore, the law enforcement authorities are taking active measures to avoid any future terrorist attacks by this group. From the analysis of the domestic terrorism in the United States, it can be inferred that the US has witnessed significant damage due to the domestic terrorist activities than the damage faced by international terrorism. Domestic terrorism has been prevailing in the United States for decades. The intensity of terrorist activities was different in diff erent eras. There are numerous groups or organizations that are actively involved in the domestic terrorist activities in the United States and there have been a number of notable domestic terrorist activities in the past few decades. The government should allocate more resources in order to enhance the measures being taken against the domestic terrorism and the authorities that form new laws should take the opinion of the opposing groups into account as well in order to reduce the domestic terrorist activities in the United States.