Sentient..?

In my previous blog I argued that computers/artificial intelligence should be considered alive. This can be linked to that of other forms of intelligence. Not necessarily if they are alive, that is quite obvious, but rather are they a sentient species?

In class we were presented with a presentation on the gorilla Koko by one of our own. She presented the facts about who Koko is. One of the facts she was trying to make known to us is that Koko is intelligent.

Koko is able to many things that would qualify her to be a sentient being, so why isn't she?

One of the most significant things that Koko can do is communicate logically and originally. Basically this means that you can have a complete, unrehearsed, conversation with Koko and she will respond with her own responses. This is even more spectacular in the fact that if Koko wants to say something but does not know the particular word for it she will attempt to make up something else that is fitting. A second significant aspect of Koko is that she can take care of another being. Koko owned a cat which she cared for and loved. A third significant aspect of Koko is that she can feel emotion. When Koko’s cat died she was stricken with heartache. Koko is also a very proud creature because she did not openly express all of this heartache to the public.

Koko has also taught two other gorillas to communicate. If she was but a dumb animal how then could she do such a thing?

Whether or not Koko is an intelligent being should not even be up for question; moreover whether or not the entire gorilla population should be considered sentient beings should not be up for question either.

The fact that the human arrogance is blinding it is hardly a new concept. This blinding darkness has followed the human race throughout its history. One example of this arrogance is whether or not the earth was the center of the universe. If that is not a prime example of how self-minded we are I do not know what is. Another example is that of the world being flat. When the idea of the earth actually being round came into question it was dismissed without a second thought. As we all know the outcome of that was that humans were wrong yet again. Another more biological example would be that of bleeding each other to heal. Sure it worked for some things (like high blood pressure) but this was an archaic remedy.

The counter argument would be that we admit to being imperfect. This argument would only strengthen mine. It would do so by the fact that we are admitting to not being right about everything. So then why is it that we cannot accept other beings as equals to ourselves? Why can’t we declare the gorilla an equally intelligent being? Why do we jest to the idea of an artificial intelligence? Because the human arrogance cannot accept the fact that it is not number one.

We must also take the other creatures into question besides just gorillas or artificial intelligences into greater consideration in this argument. What about the dolphin? The dolphin is considered to be the next most intelligent being on the planet. We can teach the dolphin to do many different tasks. We even believe it has some form of communication between itself and other dolphins. The absolute truth is that we still regard it as just a really neat animal. No more separated than that of any other being not human. We even lock these creatures up in jails for our own viewing pleasure. On this instance it would be argued that we are helping them by saving them from the wild. Who said they needed saving? The most destructive force is the very one that claims to be trying to protect it. Another creature that we must protect from ourselves is that of the orangutan. This marvel is considered to be the most related to that of humans being only 2 chromosomes off. Unfortunately we still consider it to be another animal.

To make my argument bottom-lined and clear, the human race needs to become more open minded to that of other forms of intelligence. The veil arrogance that has blinded us for thousands of years must be removed if we are ever to move forward. We must accept the other sentient beings as just that sentient, otherwise we cannot expect the same treatment as sentient from anyone else, if ever there be.