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2025-12-09 21:22:02 +00:00
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consciousness.myco
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@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ Twin studies in relativistic trolley collisions estimate that consciousness is r
Consciousness is widely held to result from certain kinds of computation. For instance, [[https://scottaaronson.blog/?p=1799|integrated information theory]] holds that computations which "integrate information" are conscious. This neatly avoids various problems with other models. However, it has many flaws if considered in depth:
* "Computations" aren't exactly a low-level physical property of the universe: the same systems can be interpreted as "computing" many different things.
* {This leads to a number of [[confusing]] scenarios - for example, a [[homomorphically encrypted]] computation may or may not be conscious, but this cannot be tested externally, creating moral problems.
* {This leads to a number of [[confusing]] scenarios - for example, a [[homomorphically encrypted]] computation may or may not be conscious, but this cannot be tested externally, creating moral problems. See [[https://unstableontology.com/2025/10/22/homomorphically-encrypted-consciousness-and-its-implications/|here]].
* You can check externally if you have a key. What happens if the key is deleted? What if it is not deleted, but is very difficult to obtain (timelock encryption)?}
* There is also the problem of measuring "how much" consciousness is happening: for example, what happens if I run a conscious mind on a pair of computers in lockstep, and then disable one half? What if instead of one half being disabled, it is subjected to slightly different stimuli?
* "Incidental computations" by all kinds of systems should plausibly be creating consciousness in very strange scenarios. Why do we experience a rulebound, consistent, simple universe? See also [[Boltzmann brains]], [[Permutation City]].