[butter_pat_head]

Uh. nothing? This is just a fancy computer that works like a brain, not a super-sexy, prospectively genocidal AI, right?

No, but think of it this way.  Assume they make the brain.  They switch it on and through the act of feeding it stimulus it begins to behave like a real human brain would so naturally one would conclude that if enough stimulus (of the correct type) is given for a long enough time that the brain becomes aware of itself like any growing human would and possibly even developing consciousness.  At what point does 'turning off a computer' become 'ending a existence'?

[Bobboau]

when it's state is not preserved between sessions.

[IronBeer]

At what point does 'turning off a computer' become 'ending a existence'?

Depends on whether or not said computer can store its cognitive state when shut down. If it can do so, it would likely be much akin to biological sleep or unconsciousness. (damnit, ninja'd be Bobboau)

I'd rather we just get on with all the potential AI shenanigans anyways. We won't know the outcome until we try, and attempts at AI development / brain emulation are inevitable at this point. "Come whatever may", saith I.

[bigchunk1]

Just because something behaves like a living creature does not mean it is a living creature.

Things would REALLY start to get interesting if they just started growing brain matter in hopes of manufacturing the world's most inteligent creature. Is that alive?

[Suongadon]

Uh. nothing? This is just a fancy computer that works like a brain, not a super-sexy, prospectively genocidal AI, right?

No, but think of it this way.  Assume they make the brain.  They switch it on and through the act of feeding it stimulus it begins to behave like a real human brain would so naturally one would conclude that if enough stimulus (of the correct type) is given for a long enough time that the brain becomes aware of itself like any growing human would and possibly even developing consciousness.  At what point does 'turning off a computer' become 'ending a existence'?

IF it somehow turns into some sort of AI, then I say we patent the **** out of it, make hundreds of thousands more and strap them into some *****in' humanoid war machines and sell them to every metanation country in the world to use as cannon fodder in their perpetual war economy. There. Morality question dodged.

serious, non-I-think-an-AI-apocalypse-would-be--kinda-cool answer is uh, what they said . It doesn't really count as a ninja when you leave the window open for ~1.5hours without hitting post, does it?