Joscha Bach, cognitive scientist known for MicroPsi architectures, states that computation matters for understanding life and cognition due to causal insulation in self-contained systems
AI safety researcher davidad replies with complementary principle of acausal non-isolation.
@Plinz And, dually, acausal non-isolation!
Joscha Bach@PlinzWhat makes computation important to understanding life and minds is not the Turing machine, but the principle of causal insulation. Computers create their own, self contained world, fully governed by rules that are independent from the dynamics of the substrate.
Just as text keeps information stable, computers keep transition functions (information dynamics) stable. For text, it is not important whether we write it on clay tablets, paper or hard drives. For the computer, it is not important whether it's biological, chemical or electric.
Joscha Bach@PlinzWhat makes computation important to understanding life and minds is not the Turing machine, but the principle of causal insulation. Computers create their own, self contained world, fully governed by rules that are independent from the dynamics of the substrate.