Atlas sees position, velocity and force. That's it.

I guess what I'm getting at is the idea that one could take an equally reductionist view of the human mind, it's just that our brains are optimized beyond the point of being possible to interpret. We see, we hear, we feel, we smell, and all that information is plugged into a complex logical system, along with our memories, categories, and any evolved instincts to dictate our actions. And I think that the systems you're describing in the paragraph preceding this quote don't lack computer analogs. If you'd like to get into the technical weeds of that I'd be interested in pursuing it.

researchers saying "it can't do this" and the general public going "but it sure looks like it does, clearly you're wrong because I want this to be true."

What about Christopher Manning, the other computational linguist mentioned in this article?

I should be more precise about what I'm trying to say, cause I'm certainly not one of those nuts who believes that LaMDA or ChatGPT are sentient. I'm engaging with you because you seem knowledgeable on a subject which I find my self at odds with many really smart people that I agree with on lots of other stuff.

The central disconnect that I'm interested in learning more about is the idea of humans as exceptional in deserving of our respect and compassion. In this article this stance is presented as an almost a priori abhorrent view of humanity, one that should be met with a sigh and look towards the camera. I'm gathering that you agree with Bender in wanting to posit humanity as an axiom.

I kind of take a panpsychist view on consciousness, and fundamentally what I'm arguing is that that perspective allows for manmade constructs like computer programs to attain some degree of consciousness. I'm curious if/where the disconnect (touching David's finger) arises there in your view, or if we're simply arguing from different sets of premises.

With all that being said, I can absolutely understand a lack of interest in engaging on this topic or seeing it as intellectually frivolous given that we aren't even able to convince people to treat other humans with respect.