.require "memo.pub[let,jmc]" source;
Boxes:

	We will ascribe beliefs to machines for the same reason we
ascribe them to other people.  It helps understand their behavior.

	Machines have and will have varied little minds.  Long before
we can make machines with human capability, we will have many machines
that cannot be understood except in mental terms.

	From the the instructions that came with
an electric blanket: %2"Place the control near the bed in a place that
is neither hotter nor colder than the room itself. If the control
is placed on a radiator or radiant heated floors, it will "think"
the entire room is hot and will lower your blanket temperature, making
your bed too cold. If the control is placed on the window sill
in a cold draft, it will "think" the entire room is cold and will
heat up your bed so it will be too hot."%1

	It wouldn't be a good idea to make machines that could reasonably
ascribed rights or duties.  Who wants a bunch of whining robots
that have to be jailed when they behave badly?

	No more mental qualities should be ascribed to a particular
machine than its structure and behavior warrant.  The thermostat
can be considered to believe the room is too cold, but there is
no basis for considering it to believe that it is a thermostat
or have any other belief about itself.