Transitional stages from Machine to Sentient Being

Thinking machines

Special purpose: limited as in chess

Multiple purpose: Two or more related skills

General purpose thinking machine: Artificial Intelligence

Conscious machines

One we believe to be conscious (passes limited Turing Test)

A machine that believes itself to be conscious (and alive!)

A truly sentient machine (one we accept as conscious and alive)

Human-equal or superior machines (Sentient Being)

One we believe to be conscious and intelligent (Turing Test)
—Such a machine would appear to have emotions.

Machine, conscious and intelligent, with real emotions
—For example, it would demand the rights of an independent being.

The superior machine would find a way to acquire those rights, i.e., not relying upon us to grant them.


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Last updated 5/01/02

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