Religion
In reply to the discussion: On Reconciling Atheism and Meaning in the Universe [View all]cpwm17
(3,829 posts)Consciousness in biological critters would have taken millions of years to evolve - it's complex. Even if scientists ever determine what biological processes create consciousness, there is really no way to transfer this knowledge to make computers conscious. The hardware will always be very different.
This also brings up another issue: reincarnation. If someone believes that computers can recreate the conscious self after someone dies, then they should also believe that reincarnation is possible. It is far more believable than duplicating the self into computers.
Reincarnation in this case would require no soul, or any other woo. It's just a duplication of the process that creates the self by another conscious critter. In the vast multiverse (probably exists), and through the infinite time that has ever existed, reincarnation is probably guaranteed.
Some claim that if computers (or the internet) become complex enough they may become conscious. That's assuming consciousness has no real purpose, but it's just background noise of complex machines. Nothing can be further from the truth.
Consciousness produces good and bad feelings (pain, pleasure, emotions, etc) which are the driving force for conscious animals. Without this driving force we couldn't function at all. This has taken many millions of years to evolve.