Is ego an emergent property?

[Hamilcar]

everything is in the question ...
Since consciousness is the only thing that exists,do you think there will be a point where we start to see a complex AI showing signs of self awareness ?

[molosku]

Thats a question from the materialistic paradigm, you are implying consciousness is a property of an organism, or a developed AI (lets call it a robot) and that the mind and sense perceptions are "ways" of knowing.  

A more closer to truth statement would be that consciousness HAS an organism or a robot. But even that is incorrect, as it personificates consciousness.

Really there is ONLY consciousness, the supreme self, as you said.  There are no boundaries to make the distinction of something having something and something being had by something. 

To say that rocks, trees or people HAVE consciousness, is called panpsychism. 

Science has not yet accepted this view as a whole. From their paradigm, scientist can legitimately ask the question you just asked, but even in that paradigm lies a problem: how can you tell true self consciousness from an intelligent imitation of consciousnes? What kind of a test would you come up with?  Interview is just talking and talk is just that: talk. AI can talk about self consciousness all day without truly having it. 

But yeah more importantly, my first point. 

Check out the movie: Ex machina

 

[Nahm]

@Hamilcar Yeah. We call em humans. Lol. 

[Prabhaker]

 

[egoless]

2 hours ago, Hamilcar said:

everything is in the question ...
Since consciousness is the only thing that exists,do you think there will be a point where we start to see a complex AI showing signs of self awareness ?

Ego is just a concept. There is literally no difference between the so called ego and the rock. Your mind makes distinctions. And it is the illusion of the mind. Like there would not be any substantial difference between the rock and your character in the dream. Both would be existing in and made out of your consciousness. Nothing changes when you “wake up” from that dream. I am not fairy taling here I am telling you what I am directly aware of. 

Edited April 19, 2018 by egoless

[Matt8800]

4 hours ago, Hamilcar said:

everything is in the question ...
Since consciousness is the only thing that exists,do you think there will be a point where we start to see a complex AI showing signs of self awareness ?

The ego is an emergent property of our animal brains.

If insects, worms, etc are conscious, I dont assume that AI does not now have a rudimentary consciousness.

[tsuki]

4 hours ago, Hamilcar said:

do you think there will be a point where we start to see a complex AI showing signs of self awareness?

Instead of making more and more complex AI programs that would reveal awareness to us, we should better focus on recognizing awareness in a cup of coffee. 

[Hamilcar]

@tsuki that's pretty wise! haha.


Actually by self awareness , I mean having the illusion of having a self , a different self from the surrounding.
we generally tend to assume that consciousness is an emergent property , but what if it was the ego itself ?

[tsuki]

4 hours ago, Hamilcar said:

Actually by self awareness , I mean having the illusion of having a self , a different self from the surrounding.
we generally tend to assume that consciousness is an emergent property , but what if it was the ego itself ?

@Hamilcar In what sense your self is an illusion? What is an illusion? What is a self?
I honestly don't know answers to these questions and I believe that the problem you are posing is predicated on your belief in your peculiar understanding those concepts.

What I was trying to point out in my first post is that emergence of any property is based on our recognition of it.
The AI will become self aware, because I will become aware of its self-awareness.
A pen is useful, because I know the use for it.
The sky is blue, because I call it so. There is no blueness in the sky. I am the sky's blue.
The idea that I am separate from the sky is based in spatial distance between us. Once you become aware that this separation is optional, you may very well make the cup of coffee self aware.