June 1, 2016
“We are organisms not computers. Get over it” says Robert Epstein. In his article, The Empty Brain, Epstein highlights that comparing the human brain to a computer is a fallacy. We don’t come into this world with, and never develop, the many attributes a computer is born with, such as programs, algorithms, rules and so forth. The issue, claims Epstein, is that brain-IP comparisons have become sticky – just like certain expressions (e.g. “robust”). Epstein uses an example, involving a dollar bill, to demonstrate the human brain’s lack of representational capacity. He makes other points challenging the “IP metaphor” and concludes that because the brain is not a computer we need not be concerned or hopeful about concepts such as achieving immortality via brain uploading — in other words, the singularity is not near.