Love a good thought experiment, especially with reference to the cognitive scientist of our time (Borges). I thought you might explore what feels like a real-world analog to your musing -- the profession of "computer," which was a job title for actual humans (often non-white women) who did work in the ballpark of what you describe here. Also, who drinks coffee with honey? Gross.
Thanks! And yeah that’s a good connection—I think there’s a whole essay to write on the historical role of human agency powering computational systems, and the subsequent attribution of agency to the system itself (or the gap left) once the human agency is removed. (Of course, it’s incorrect to say it’s been removed altogether, but that’s the impression sometimes given by folks describing systems as autonomous, etc)
Love a good thought experiment, especially with reference to the cognitive scientist of our time (Borges). I thought you might explore what feels like a real-world analog to your musing -- the profession of "computer," which was a job title for actual humans (often non-white women) who did work in the ballpark of what you describe here. Also, who drinks coffee with honey? Gross.
Thanks! And yeah that’s a good connection—I think there’s a whole essay to write on the historical role of human agency powering computational systems, and the subsequent attribution of agency to the system itself (or the gap left) once the human agency is removed. (Of course, it’s incorrect to say it’s been removed altogether, but that’s the impression sometimes given by folks describing systems as autonomous, etc)