I have an electric toothbrush. It works in cycles. It will automatically buzz when 2 minutes have elapsed (because two minutes is, of course, the best possible amount of time when one is doing the brushing of the teeth), which prompts me to turn it off. Then, when I press the "On" button once more, it will continue brushing merrily away, as if nothing had occurred.

It makes me wonder what it would be like. Going through a routine, then being turned off. Only to resume as if uninterrupted when the "On" button is pressed again.

If we, as a species, succeed in creating A.I (artificial intelligence), would they need to be turned "Off" to recharge, and, if they did, would they know that anything had happened? Logically, any rational mind would note that the surroundings had changed, but would they be able to deduce that their processors had discontinued firing had the transition been short and unnoticeable? What would they think during the "Off" time? Would they continue to be aware? Or would their thought processing just... stop? I suppose the real question here is, should we create A.I, would robots dream?

Alright, that sounds nuts. I may as well be asking 'Do toasters have feelings', or 'Does my fridge secretly plan to conquer the planet' (after all, I know the answer to the latter is 'Of course'.)

But, if you just think about the concept of A.I, it doesn't seem so silly after all. I mean, what's the point in having intelligence if it doesn't extend beyond basic 'stimulus, response'? If humans could not dream, would people still create, imagine, wonder?

Electric toothbrush= metaphysical speculation. Nice work, mind.