Can an AI die or have an afterlife?

Question

If you were to construct an AI as intelligent as a human being, e.g., it knows it exists, it has a purpose, it can take decisions on its own, etc. etc. and then turn off the software, what do you think will happen?

I am very interested to find any sort of research that may have been gathered in this field. Imagine being able to contain a being in a software programme, turn it on, have an individual emerge, grow, develop and then turn off the programme. What would happen to the intelligent being? Do you think it will know it existed if you start the programme again? Would it ever grow beyond the programme it is contained within?

Answer 1

"and then turn off the software, what do you think will happen?"



Exactly the same as happens to us - everything just goes away...



No afterlife...



Let's take it one step further...



Let's say that this AI in its travel to self awareness comes to "believe" that there will be an afterlife for "him"...



Say he is run on batteries and he knows that someday the batteries will become exhausted...



This AI cannot imaging that the wonderful thoughts he is thinking wil just go away when the power it turned off...



Does such a thought, such a conviction, such a belief, such a feeling of certainty IN ANYWAY alter the eventual fate of the "consciousness"...



If this AI invents a "religion" with a place for him to go with a God to make it happen will that religion IN ANYWAY alter the eventual fate of the "consciousness"...



To have such an "afterlife" for an AI program would be exactly the same as having an afterlife for every program ever run that was eventually turned off... UNLESS...



You can demonstrate that there is some real difference between any program running and a program running with consciousness...

Answer 2

Such a machine or device would have to be self-aware in order to have those attributes. Such a device would then by definition have to be alive. Man is unable to create life as yet using any substance. Life is the animation of a substance by a spirit and cannot be duplicated with electronic circuits.

Answer 3

the question reduces to this:



is Awareness a NON- Material immortal being?



does it have independent existence outside of the structure which implements that awareness



we have NO concept for that other than religious belief



There is an old story: generation upon Generation of ultra mega super computers are asked:

"Is there a God?"

each time the answer is "insufficient data" . a new more powerful computer is then built



finally comes the answer



" NOW THERE IS"

Answer 4

AIs do not exist, and as far as is known, are not possible.



A;though they may be possible in the future.



The bit about the afterlife is a religious issue and you should ask this on the appropriate forum.



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