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Energy Requirements Undermine Substrate Independence and Mind-Body Functionalism

Thagard, Paul (2021) Energy Requirements Undermine Substrate Independence and Mind-Body Functionalism. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Substrate independence and mind-body functionalism claim that thinking does not depend on any particular kind of physical implementation. But real-world information processing depends on energy and energy depends on material substrates. Biological evidence for these claims comes from ecology and neuroscience, while computational evidence comes from neuromorphic computing and deep learning. Attention to energy requirements undermines the use of substrate independence to support claims about the feasibility of artificial intelligence, the moral standing of robots, the possibility that we may be living in a computer simulation, the plausibility of transferring minds into computers, and the autonomy of psychology from neuroscience.


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Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Thagard, Paul
Additional Information: Forthcoming in Philosophy of Science
Keywords: Energy, mind-body functionalism, substrate independence, ecology, neuroscience, neuromorphic computing, deep learning, information
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Biology
General Issues > Causation
Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science
Specific Sciences > Artificial Intelligence
General Issues > Computer Simulation
General Issues > Explanation
Specific Sciences > Neuroscience
Specific Sciences > Psychology
Depositing User: Dr. Paul Thagard
Date Deposited: 10 Jun 2021 03:43
Last Modified: 10 Jun 2021 03:43
Item ID: 19166
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Biology
General Issues > Causation
Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science
Specific Sciences > Artificial Intelligence
General Issues > Computer Simulation
General Issues > Explanation
Specific Sciences > Neuroscience
Specific Sciences > Psychology
Date: 8 June 2021
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/19166

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