Qualia, functional equivalence, and computation

Robert Van Gulick

pp. 119-126

in: Herbert Otto, James Tuedio (eds), Perspectives on mind, Berlin, Springer, 1988

Abstract

Despite their impressive abilities to calculate and process information, present day computers do not have feelings, experiences, or inner lives involving qualia or phenomenal properties. Is this merely a reflection of the present limited state of computer technology or are there a priori and conceptual reasons which preclude the possibility of developing computers with qualia? If, in the future, robots are built which appear to display the full range of human affective behavior, how would we decide whether or not they did in fact have feelings and experiences? How could we determine whether they felt pains and enjoyed the taste of chocolate or merely simulated the human behaviors associated with such inner states?