Minds, Brains, and Programs

Is there a "something" which distinguishes human cognition from a programmatic simulation? Sam Peck presents John R. Searle's 1980 article, famous for its "Chinese Room" thought experiment, in search of an answer.

http://games.cs.uno.edu/publications/papers/searle1980minds.pdf

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How to read the paper, in four optional steps:

0. Skip it and attend anyway — the presentation won't assume attendees have read the paper.

1. Watch the "First Law" episode of the show "Numb3rs", available on Amazon Prime Video, about whether a computer has the capacity to commit a homicide. https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1256334/

2. Read the section of the paper where the "Chinese Room" thought experiment is described (on the third page of the PDF).

3. Read as much or as little of the paper as you like.

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Street parking on 6th, 7th & 8th Avenues north of B Street is usually easy at that hour. Meters nearby are free after 6. Read signage before you park on A street.

If you're interested in presenting a paper please fill out this form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScaI-fWdys27-ByT_HdtsJ73V4AxZr0hf1GSqLsQ1IwAaPdIQ/viewform) or talk to us in person at the meetup.