Brains = complex computers. We believe that people are conscious but simple programs are not. So the central argument is that a difference of amount is a difference of kind.
Begging the question: at what level of computing power can a computer be deemed ‘conscious’?
I highly doubt theres some magical number N of logic gates that introduces consciousness, where N-1 does not qualify a system for being conscious.
So, are there levels of consciousness? Where N-1 compared to N is a different level, rather than being a binary ‘no’ or ‘yes’ to the question “is it conscious?”. If this is the case, how do you distinguish between levels of consciousness by measuring the output of a system rather than looking at it’s internal makeup. Similar to say a Turing test, seeing whether you can differentiate between the nature of two beings by what they say, rather than just looking at what they are.
If you suppose you can test for levels of consciousness, at what point do you introduce ethics? Are some consciousness’ too primordial to expect the same moral treatment, or do all levels of consciousness deserve equal treatment? Unless you believe that an insect deserves to be treated under the same system of ethics as a human, the answer is very obviously no. So, differing levels of consciousness’ are deserving of different treatment, with more complex systems being more deserving of better treatment.
— So, definitively, believing in consciousness means you believe that smarter people are entitled to better treatment than stupid people, and tards dont deserve rights.
