The Cognitive Approach to Conscious Machines

Could a machine have an immaterial mind? The author argues that true conscious machines can be built, but rejects artificial intelligence and classical neural networks in favour of the emulation of the cognitive processes of the brain—the flow of inner speech, inner imagery and emotions. This results in a non-numeric meaning-processing machine with distributed information representation and system reactions. It is argued that this machine would be conscious; it would be aware of its own existence and its mental content and perceive this as immaterial. Novel views on consciousness and the mind–body problem are presented. This book is a must for anyone interested in consciousness research and the latest ideas in the forthcoming technology of mind.

Keywords: Computation, computers, cognition, AI, articicial intelligence, Turing machine, neural networks, consciousness, perception, reasoning, intelligence, memory, learning, creativity, emotions, language, thought, inner speech, grammar and syntax, hard problem, intentionality, qualia, attention, theory of mind, free will, technology, representation, associative neuron, motor function, mirror neurons, ghost in the machine, self-consciousness, robots