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Reality, Consciousness and AI

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1) In your own words, briefly explain how Descartes came to be so much more certain of himself as a thinking consciousness ("I think therefore I am") than he was of the physical reality of his everyday world. You sit at your computer now but how can you be sure that it's real and you're not actually dreaming instead?

2) Could a machine think or could a computer develop consciousness? What is the difference between thinking as a human being and computing as a highly developed robotic entity?

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Solution Summary

The solution provides concise advise in the following topics: thinking consciousness and reality (Cartesian) and artificial intelligence probability.

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The Descartes question needs to refer to two concepts that are central to Descartes' Method: that he would only accept as true an idea that presented itself to him "clearly and distinctly" and that he would begin his exploration of certainty by doubting everything that could possibly be doubted. As a result, he imagined that he could doubt any of his perceptions of the world, but he could not doubt his own existence; for even if he ...

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