The only real similarity between the views of Lycan and Searle are that they are both materialists. By this they both believe that only physical properties exist and are relevant. However, on the subject of computing machines and artificial intelligence there is little else that the two agree on.
             Because Lycan is a materialist, his metaphysical views on the possibility of artificial intelligence are quite simple. The mind, being nothing more that a physical entity, is relevant only because of its function and what it can do rather than what it is made of. The bulk of Lycan's assumptions regarding AI rest on the hypothetical technology involved in his mind experiments. Lycan's main argument revolves around the mind experiment of an artificially intelligent creature named Harry. Basically, Harry acts and looks exactly like a human. He can do anything that a human can and is basically very much the same as a human other than his physical makeup. With the possibility of this assumed to be so, Lycan attempts to answer the following questions. Is Harry a person, does he have thoughts, feelings, and so on, and, is he conscious. Lycan believes that Harry would be considered a person because of the fact that he acts like a person. He defends this by stating, "I think it is a plain psychological fact...that we could not help treating him as a person, unless we resolutely made up our minds...not to give him the time of day." To the question of Harry's consciousness Lycan responds by questioning our understanding of consciousness in general. "How do you tell that I am conscious, and how do I tell that you are," he asks. He goes on to explain that the only way we can really judge the consciousness of a being is by measuring its behavior. If Harry were to fulfill the criteria generally perceived as necessary for consciousness, we would have no choice but to assume that he is in fact conscious. Fr...