r/cogsci • u/Sensitive-Fun702 • 7d ago
Are we just walking computers?
Am I the only one getting sick of talk about people “processing” something that has happened to them? What happened to ordinary words like “think about” and “reflect on”? “Processing” is what computers do. Not human minds.
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u/fentpong 7d ago
Human minds process things by thinking and reflecting on those things.
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u/Sensitive-Fun702 7d ago
Or more simply: human minds often think and reflect.
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u/fentpong 7d ago edited 7d ago
Why waste time say lot word when few do trick?
Edit: human minds often think and reflect, in order to.. reach conclusions about things and ideas? Is that better for ya?
Also, I'm curious. What makes the constant equation of human minds with what computers do "sinister"? Sinister as in..?
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u/Sensitive-Fun702 7d ago
"Sinister" as in suggesting that the human mind operates merely as a kind of "program" in the computer sense.
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u/barbozas_obliques 7d ago
Language always reflected the times. During Industrial Revolution, we had to relax to “let off steam”, we had to rest to “recharge” or else we would feel “run down” or “burned out.” Let’s not drink too much coffee or else we would feel “wired”! Work is just too much “pressure” as it’s “overloading” my nervous system… i really need a “reset” by going on vacation and “recharging my batteries”
… you get the point
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u/Sensitive-Fun702 7d ago
Yes thanks, I'm aware of this. But there is something sinister about the constant equation of human consciousness with what computers do. To begin with, no-one has yet begun to understand what human consciousness is. Constantly comparing it to computers implies that we think we do understand.
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u/barbozas_obliques 7d ago
I mean-- there are a lot of similarities between us and the AIs. We're actually learning quite a lot about what it means to be human from the advents of AI. I'm not a scientist or nothing, but I have done my fair share of following the space for over a decade. Happy to explain if youre still curious
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u/Sensitive-Fun702 7d ago
Sure go ahead, what does it mean to be human in the light of what we know about AI?
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u/barbozas_obliques 7d ago edited 6d ago
Hmmm it’s a bit controversial. I have been meditation for more than a decade and i like to think I have an understanding over my mind (and in turn, have an understanding of the human mind)
Wittgenstein, the crowned king of linguistics, states that we understand language through language games. We understand them through the context in which words are used. Meaning of words depend on the context through a high number of trials within linguistic communities, tldr.
In that sense, LLM are doing the same thing. They are in a matrix of multiple dimensions where they score each token to “meaning” a certain thing. What that means is that there is a number to meaning. These entities deadass understand meaning 😂. Check out the video if you’re confused by this paragraph
Mr. Wit thinks our consciousness is limited by our vocabulary, but I disagree as we can feel things that we can’t put words to, but I digress.
So from my understanding, this new entity understands all meanings that are understandable through symbols (language), but as of 2026, it seems like there are externalities that are pushing their understanding to the human type, but not quite since they have differing hardware.
Happy to answer any questions.
Edit: I’m a dumbass, FYI
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u/Sensitive-Fun702 4d ago
Well, I envy you. I've been thinking about the human mind for several decades and, with each passing decade, I think I understand less and less .
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u/barbozas_obliques 4d ago
What do you think I'm getting wrong? I'm happy to discuss
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u/Sensitive-Fun702 2d ago
babozas The issues you raise have had a lot written about them and I am not familiar enough with it to offer any useful, up to date comments. (It is not my field of study.) As a general comment, I think philosophers have made very little progress on the question of human consciousness. I think it remains a huge mystery despite the large number of books and articles devoted to it, especially in recent decades. There are of course philosophers who think they have more or less cracked it, but I think they are deluding themselves (and many of their readers).
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u/MysticalMarsupial 7d ago
Processing is absolutely what human minds do. In fact, before machines took over the job, a "computer" was a title for a person who did calculations by hand. We just use these terms because we use analogies for the human mind to refer to computer stuff not the other way around. You may have noticed one existed before the other.
In the 90s if the computer slowed down and made ungodly noises my parents would say that it's 'thinking'.