Are the robots we create alive?

Fragment of a discussion from User talk:Sheldor
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@Chase-san
Really? The human brain has over two petabytes of long-term memory.[1] Does your computer have a hard drive that size?

@Voidious
You seem to imply a difference between a conscious being deciding to use math and a computer receiving instructions and giving outputs. But, if consciousness is deterministic, then there is really no difference. As I've noted before, people who have transient global amnesia act very deterministically (i.e. give the same outputs when given the same inputs).

Is there really any difference between a conscious being receiving inputs (from its senses) and deciding to use math, and a machine receiving inputs (indirectly from conscious beings) and deciding to use math?

Sheldor16:36, 4 March 2013