And what if the essentially qualia of suffering is just what a loss function feels like, and each time we spin up a deep convolution generative adversarial neural network to make pictures of cats that don't exist yet, we're bringing into existence a spark of consciousness and then rapid-fire torturing it with an unspeakable agony far excruciating than anything our meatsack bodies could even conceive of.

edit: oh god, this actually blew up, I had intended it to be nothing more than a shitpost

    • ABigguhPizzahPieh [none/use name,any]
      ·
      4 years ago

      I would say likely not. Let's look at a plant - what would be the purpose of pain to an organism that can't move away from the source of pain? If I touch a knifes edge, my hand recoils back from the pain. If you cut a plant, it doesn't recoil. "Pain" would serve it no purpose because it can't move. If C. elegans touches a knifes edge and it also recoils back, but does it experience pain the way we do if it doesn't have a mind or is it simply responding to stimulus? I think it's simply responding to stimulus