Digital machines can't faithfully simulate chaos — so why assume they can reproduce a mind?
anilkseth · x · 2026-09-18
Roger Highfield argues, alongside neuroscientist Anil Seth, Peter Coveney, Geoff Hinton, and a nod to Penrose, for the case of "Analogue Intelligence": digital computers can't even faithfully simulate a simple chaotic equation, so assuming they can reproduce a mind is unfounded.
Key points:
- The only consciousness we know runs on roughly the power of a dim light bulb — not a water-guzzling server farm
- LLMs are "plausibility machines" that pass Turing's imitation game, but seeming like a mind isn't having one
- Turing himself showed well-defined problems no idealized computer can solve — reason for wariness, not a verdict on machine consciousness
- The digital-vs-analogue question remains strikingly underexplored in AI and consciousness debates
More from AGI Musings
- Alpha School investigation: 17 campuses on probation, Bill Ackman as shadow lead, Holmes involved — benjaminjriley · 2026-11-02
- Google's chief economist: AI will transform more jobs than it kills — gains come from redesigning workflows — danielrock · 2026-11-02
- Daniel Lemire: AI is exploding demand for boring compute, server CPUs to double — lemire · 2026-11-02
- Alignment researcher: the word "aligned" implies consistencies that don't exist — davidmanheim · 2026-11-02
- By 2035, Indian Parents Will Ask How Many Agents You Manage, Not Your Salary — theteknosaur · 2026-11-02
- Under 5% of US consumers pay for AI, yet compute demand is already forcing usage cuts — NinaDSchick · 2026-11-02