**Joscha Bach on why mind uploading won’t work, why Penrose and Hameroff are wrong, whether AGI is possible on current hardware, and what the apocalypse, the Singularity and God have in common**
In a recent Reddit conversation, cognitive scientist Joscha Bach addressed several critical questions regarding AI and consciousness. He argues that mind uploading through connectome mapping rests on a category error; the connectome captures only the routing topology of a nervous system, not its computational substrate where cognition actually happens. This view is supported by examples such as C. elegans, with 302 neurons mapped since 1986 but still no working simulation.
Bach further contends that current machine learning architectures operate one abstraction layer above where artificial general intelligence (AGI) would need to be built. He also critiques the AI research community for functioning as prophets of a new religion, with the technological singularity playing a role akin to an eschaton in some religious contexts. This perspective challenges traditional views on both mind uploading and AGI.
**Takeaways:**
– **Mind Upload Limitations**: Mind uploading through connectome mapping is unlikely due to the disconnect between the physical structure and the computational substrate of cognition.
– **Current ML Architectures**: Current AI models are too abstracted for building true AGI, suggesting a gap in our understanding or current toolset for achieving such intelligence.
– **Singularitarian Hypothesis**: The singularity as an eschaton is viewed skeptically by some researchers like Bach, questioning its validity and utility.
Originally published at reddit.com. Curated by AI Maestro.
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