Mr. Hsing,

thank you for the response. I should have DM'ed you my concerns and questions regarding your article rather than writing up an article and posting it. It was thoughtless and impolite. I also don't think that we are going to change each other's minds. It is obvious to me from your response to me, and most likely obvious to you because of my article about your article, that we aren't likely to change each others' minds.

I don't disagree that artificial intelligence cannot become conscious. I also don't agree. I don't know and I am okay with the uncertainty. The reality for me is that we don't know how humans became conscious and because we don't know that, I also must assume that I cannot know how other things might become conscious.

As is evident from this statement, arguments based purely on reason aren't sufficient for me. I am much more of a believe it when I see it person and until I do, I am willing to live with the unknown.

The reason I don't trust arguments based purely on reason is that I have watched far too many people make decisions as a meeting facilitator and often they aren't reasonable, no matter what I do to try to assist them in making good decisions. My philosophy professors tried to teach me that what philosophers were doing was describing how people make decisions. But, from my experience, people make the decisions they make, and then they use reason to justify their decisions. Reasoning is what we do after we think.

Therefore, for me, a priori arguments are a bit of the tail wagging the dog.

Once computers start programming themselves, who knows what would happen if a piece of code gets mutated and another one over here gets twisted around. For me, but seemingly, not to you, it is a chicken and an egg question.

But, Bill and Neil could be wrong, too. Who knows.

I apologize for any negative emotions I might have caused to occur. I also apologize for making this "disagreement" public. That was rude.

I am publishing this response and the apology it contains on my profile because I do believe people should apologize in public whenever they can without causing more harm than good.

Thank you for your time,

Scott Fry