Intelligence vs. Consciousness

While reading this article, I thought about what intelligence and consciousness really mean. Think about it, can somebody be intelligent and not have consciousness, or visa versa? There are so many factors that play into my opinion, one of them being my religious beliefs. In Brave New World, Bernard is one of the few Alphas that seem to be aware of consciousness and the possibility of having an authentic existence. In the article, the author discusses Kurzweil’s belief that computers will eventually become superintelligent—intelligence plus consciousness. However, in my opinion, computers are not capable of having consciousness.

Consciousness is what separates us from animals. Even the most intelligent animal does not exhibit the ability to make as sophisticated judgments as the average human toddler. Human consciousness means “to be aware of one’s own existence, sensations, thoughts and surroundings, to learn from the past and experiences of others and be able to plan for the future.” (Hornor)

Bernard exhibits consciousness despite all the hynopaedic repetitions from his childhood. Hemholtz Watson, likewise, develops awareness that appears unique to Alphas. Bernard tells Lenina when they visit the sea that he wants to be unique. He wants to be something that is not part of something else. In stating this, he is showing that he has consciousness. “As though I were more me, if you see what I mean. More on my own, not so completely a part of something else. Not just a cell in the social body” (Huxley, 90). Therefore in Brave New World, intelligence and consciousness are linked.

Grossman states that technology is growing at a rapid pace. Studies have found that "technological progress happens exponentially, not linearly” (Grosssman). He states, in summarizing Kurzweil and other Singularitarians, that eventually artificial intelligence will eventually create superintelligent computers that will develop consciousness.

 “All that horsepower could be put in the service of emulating whatever it is our brains are doing when they create consciousness — not just doing arithmetic very quickly or composing piano music but also driving cars, writing books, making ethical decisions, appreciating fancy paintings, making witty observations at cocktail parties.”

The concepts of consciousness and intelligence are fundamental to my beliefs as an Evangelical Christian. I believe that God made man in His “image,” forming man from the dust of the earth and breathed into him the breath of life; and man became “a living being.” (Genesis: 1:26) In my opinion, God is the ultimate creator, therefore technology can never become conscious because God did not intend for computers to be more than machines. God is the author of human consciousness and intelligence.

I believe that humans are the only species that has consciousness. Perhaps by 2045 we will have superintelligent computers. Technology is growing at a fast pace; but no matter how intelligent it might get, it will never reach full ‘human’ consciousness.

References: Brave New World, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2048299,00.html, and http://www.ucgstpaul.org/vcm/vol02/iss07/ai.htm

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Response to Student Pulse article

In the journal article, Examining Mythology in “The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis, the main thesis is that C.S Lewis has created a Narnian mythology. In the second paragraph the author spends a lot of time trying to convince the reader that C.S. Lewis was creating a Narnian mythology by quoting many of C.S. Lewis’ own works. While this thesis is not very controversial, it is of interest of those who enjoy the development of literary mythology. It is not clear who this article is for other than an academic audience. However it should be noted, that the author uses quite a bit of detail from the Chronicles of Narnia series. I will discuss later how this dense detail frustrates the reader.

There is a definite structure to this piece of writing. The author uses a checklist by Ryken and Mead to explain how Narnian mythology meets the criteria of mythology. There is an explanation about why Ryken and Mead’s checklist is used as opposed to Lewis’ checklist. According to the author, Ryken and Mean’s checklist is easier to understand. Since a checklist is used to structure the essay, each paragraph starts with the ‘first, second, and third characteristic’ of a myth. However, in order to be consistent, the author should have split the fourth and fifth characteristics into separate paragraphs. Since the author follows the checklist of Ryken and Mead, the structure is predictable and helps the reader follow the argument. There are no concluding sentences at the end of the paragraphs. The paragraphs seem long and lose focus.

            There is very little use of language in this journal article. The author uses the metaphor of opening a book to opening the wardrobe door to introduce the idea of Narnian mythology. Other than that there are no similes, hyperbole, personification, etc. The author quotes several sources to enhance his or her argument. It must be mentioned that several of the sentences are awkward and could have been written more simply. As mentioned above, the writing is often too specific to the stories and not specific to the argument which confuses the reader.

            For a piece of academic writing, these are some of my surprising observations.

The author chose to abbreviate the book titles after he or she first mentions them. This bothers me as a reader because it is not that difficult to write out the title of a book and I do not think it follows academic writing rules. The conclusion does not retell the content-- it goes off in a new direction. I was always taught that the reader does not have any prior knowledge. However, this author uses so much detail that was unhelpful and did not necessarily support the argument. The argument would have been stronger if there was more explanation for the reader.

            This journal article has many good points. It has a strong metaphor at the beginning. It has a good organizational structure. The author is obviously passionate about the topic. There are some flaws with the journal article such as too much assumed prior knowledge, lack of conclusion, and dry language. Overall I found this article difficult to connect to as a reader.

 Link to article: http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/69/examining-mythology-in-the-chronicles-of-narnia-by-cs-lewis

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