I Chess-bot

"He(the programmer) tells the computer the basic moves of the game, not separately for every possible starting position, but in terms of more economically expressed rules." pg 52. In this part Dawkins talks about consciousness and about how even though we can try and recreate it on machines, there is only a certain limit to what we can get them to do. He explains in this case how the programmer can teach a machine basic moves that will set the standard of the things he can do, since they are rules to follow which wont change according to the meaning they are given. A similar case to this one comes from the movie I Robot, starring Will Smith. In the movie robots are given a code to the way in which they can act, and it is pretended for that code to be perfect. But in the movie robots gain a sort of consciousness when they begin to interpret the code, and therefore start to take over. Dawkins expresses this fear in the following discussions, and talks about how someday robots might end up having a conscience, which is very different to simply having a standard set of rules to follow.

By having a conscience we are receiving more than a given way in which to do things. We are able to make connections and therefore understand things better, as well as want those things that are better. As in the case of the movie, once we begin to understand how some things could become better by implementing some changes, we go ahead and do them. In the movie the robots are the ones that see that changes could be better even against our will, but in real life we as humans do the same thing, since we decide that some things are better off in some ways and so we do them not caring of what other species think or want.