From: ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de   
      
   sobriquet  wrote or quoted:   
   >We can think of a minimal context where consciousness plays an essential   
   >role, like learning or playing the game of go.   
      
     Some people call consciousness an "epiphenomenon" meaning that it   
     cannot be observed (measured). It think that's wrong because we   
     (= systems with consciousness) speak words like, "I'm wondering what   
     this feeling of 'being there' that I have is all about. Let's call   
     it 'consciousness' for now!". A system without consciousness would   
     not speak such words (except in situations where this would be   
     explicitly programmed into the system from outside). The words are   
     observable and insofar consciousness is observable. As far as I am   
     aware, until today, our AI systems never have expressed such wonder.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)