Tom Tom:
If you allow me I'd like to relate to the subject with a little spin.
Artificial Intelligence experts are saying it's only a matter of time when AI will reach and surpass human intelligence. I'm not thoroughly familiar with buddhist dogma or any others religion for that matter but if I recall correctly "ensoulment" takes place at some point in development of human embryo. Theoretically in future we will also be able to engineer a biocyborg replica of human being. Could ensoulment happen to AI and can AI get enlightened in classical sense?
My fundamental point in this
thread was that the "soul" is an illusion or at most just a word used to conveniently describe a process. What people are referring to as "ensoulment" is simply the first sensational experience that arises after conception.
Now with A.I. we need to consider whether or not that A.I. possesses "experiential experience." Unfortunately, this would probably be impossible to determine. For example, I recently saw this movie called "Her" where a guy dates a very advanced A.I. voice that converses and acts like a real human. Just because this A.I. seems sentient doesn't mean it actually would be. It could have absolutely no internal sentient experience whatsoever and still seem like it does.
If it acts completely like it does, how would we be able to determine if it does or doesn't? We wouldn't. There would be no way to know if it has sensational experience or not.
Those are all very good points and questions.
So if we (our conscience) wouldn't be able to deny if sentient being is or isn't experiencing stuff, doesn't that make that "being" conscious? (turing test)
Why couldn't cyborgs procreate? Limits of nanotechnology are only in engineering. Building blocks are atoms.
Can we determine if non human being is conscious?
Amoeba is a sentient being right? It experiences it's surrounding. It surely is somewhat conscious?
Why couldn't a cyborg be conscious then?
Data from star trek had an emotion chip installed iirc.