[FRIAM] Free will—ghost in the machine or just clever wiring?

[Marcus Daniels]

It could write new functions, and those functions would also be deterministic.  Self-modifying or higher-order code just kicks the can down the road.  It is all still rules.   

 

From: Friam <friam-bounces at redfish.com> On Behalf Of Jochen Fromm
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2025 1:16 PM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam at redfish.com>
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Free will—ghost in the machine or just clever wiring?

 

You say as long as a robot's behaviors is 100% a function of its internal state and the external state it is coupled to we have no free will because the function determines the output and not some kind of mysterious free will, right?





But what if the robot is able to manipulate this very function? If it is able to set its own directive it will definitely modify this overall function of its internal state and the external state it is coupled to. It is tricky but not impossible.





-J.





 

-------- Original message --------

From: Marcus Daniels <marcus at snoutfarm.com <mailto:marcus at snoutfarm.com> > 

Date: 6/10/25 9:54 PM (GMT+01:00) 

To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam at redfish.com <mailto:friam at redfish.com> > 

Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Free will—ghost in the machine or just clever wiring? 

 

 

< As long as they obey the directive all these bots and robots have the freedom to pick the action they think is best. In this sense they have free will. >

The robot’s behaviors will be 100% a function of its internal state and the external state it is coupled to (even if that external state is noise).   That is a fact.   No free will.

 

Marcus

 

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