This incisive list of questions must be answered before any two people can have a meaningful conversation about the nature of intelligence and AI (because each of us has our own personal definitions & sacred cows about being and beings). From a paper by Nicolas Rouleau and Michael Levin:

1. Definition and Detection:
– What specific capacity are you discussing (intelligence, consciousness, sentience, etc.)?
– How do you define it?
– Can it be detected externally (through scientific observation) or only internally?
– What tests or strategies would measure this capacity?
– Is performance on tests sufficient evidence, or do other factors matter?

2. Material vs. Architecture:
– What makes the crucial difference between “real” intelligence and simulation:
– The materials it’s made from?
– Its causal architecture/structure?
– The process by which it was created?
– Something else?

3. Binary vs. Continuum:
– Is the distinction binary (either/or) or a continuum?
– If binary: When exactly does it appear in human development?
– If a continuum: What are the key parameters defining it?

4. Embodiment and Space:
– Can intelligence/cognition exist in spaces other than 3D physical space?
– Does it count if an entity operates in metabolic, physiological, or other abstract spaces?

5. Origins and Engineering:
– Does the origin story matter (evolved vs. engineered)?
– What’s special about evolution that makes it more likely to produce “real” minds?
– Can these properties be engineered in principle?
– Should they be engineered?

6. Hybrid Cases:
– How do you categorize systems that combine biological and mechanical parts?
– At what point does a hybrid system transition from one category to another?
– Can alien intelligences with completely different substrates qualify?

From the paper “Discussions of machine vs. living intelligence need more clarity” by Nicolas Rouleau and Michael Levin online at https://osf.io/preprints/osf/gz3km

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