I'm scared about biological computing

Post by sinfulprogeny » Wed, May 06, 2026, 8:37 AM UTC

jwilber wrote: post #157

Imnimo wrote: post #96

>But this is where the line slightly blurs in my head. Did we possibly just build the first human biocomputer and immediately put it in a simulated hell, playing the same game on loop, forever? Using the same reward mechanisms we use for LLMs? This description does not seem to really match what was done in the Doom demo, and makes me skeptical that the author has actually looked into the details.

Author clearly doesn’t know the field well at all. First few paraphrases reveal this. Opening sentence: I’ve been in the AI space since ChatGPT first dropped. Everyone is allowed to have an opinion, but that doesn’t mean they’re all worth listening to. Unfortunately, right now, all of those opinions are about ai.

Post by altmanaltman » Wed, May 06, 2026, 8:45 AM UTC

batch12 wrote: post #131

noosphr wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All opinions are my own: The whole point of the CNNs is to act like a auto encoder for input and an auto decoder for output. The only reason why this is done in the first place is because the number of electrodes in the dish is pitiful and has no chance of describing something as complex as Doom. They are there to create a latent space that can be fed through 60 odd electrodes and decode the neuron latent space into…

> using live animals as the computational substrate. Use the visual cortex of one as the input, send the neural spikes to a second animals frontal lobe for computation and finally send those signals to a third animals motor cortex to physically press buttons. That sounds terrifying.

Post by __patchbit__ » Wed, May 06, 2026, 8:57 AM UTC

krzat wrote: post #176

slibhb wrote: post #60

I read an interesting book about consciousness recently: The Hidden Spring by Mark Solms. Solms argues, I think convincingly, that consciousness fundamentally has to do with emotions and not cognition. Consciousness is not produced by the cortex but rather by the brainstem, where signals from all over the body converge (e.g. pain, hunger, itchiness, etc). If that argument is true then a petri-dish of neurons is unlik…

It's intriguing that some parts of brains are conscious, some are not. What's the difference?

Post by mrsvanwinkle » Wed, May 06, 2026, 9:08 AM UTC

philips wrote: post #40

dasyatidprime wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the source line at the end representing there? I've read The Restaurant at the End of the Universe , and while it definitely contains (and I see it as a major cultural anchor for) animals bred to desire being eaten and be able to say so, it doesn't contain that particular scene (at least in the version I read). Is that line Baggini noting that his scene was inspired by the Adams book?

Baggini is the source of the quote he just references the concept was from Adams at the end. I copy/pasted this from the book.

Post by Gravityloss » Wed, May 06, 2026, 9:37 AM UTC

vjvjvjvjghv wrote: post #68

philips wrote: post #2

I think this is the same ethical questions of veganism and our use/abuse of biological systems. This is an excerpt from "The Pig that Wants to be Eaten" by Julian Baggini > After forty years of vegetarianism, Max Berger was about to sit down to a feast of pork sausages, crispy bacon and pan-fried chicken breast. Max had always missed the taste of meat, but his principles were stronger than his culinary cravings. But…

Did Priscilla also want to be living in absolute misery every single day of her life? The way animals are treated while they are alive is my main objection to our farming practices and the reason why i don’t eat meat.