Substrate independence
Definition
Substrate independence is the idea that a mind depends only on how a system is organised and what it does, not on what it’s made of. Carbon, silicon or pure computation would all work.
On this site
Every mind in the sandbox is substrate-independent by design. Whether that even makes sense is a question for the hard problem.
Role in the model
The Mind model dial only makes sense if a mind can run on something other than a brain. If substrate independence is false, the computing a mind needs isn’t just large. It’s undefined, and every simulated person in every scenario is not really a someone. The sandbox assumes it’s true and says so.
Related
14 short pages, one per thinker, each with its matching dial. See also the reading list.