Conscious Slots

9 March 2021

By Frank Scoblete

I receive quite a few emails from readers asking questions and/or commenting on my articles but this one from Mike and Morris was quite interesting. Here it is:

M&M: This may seem far out but we think it deserves some consideration. Can slot machines have consciousness or a kind of consciousness? Could they in some way “know” what they are doing? Could they signal intelligent “with it” players what is about to come up in the next decisions or the next time frame?

If you remember the movie Maximum Overdrive or the entire Terminator series, machines have the ability to think in such movies. Yes, they mostly turn against humans, except for a few terminators, but nevertheless they think. I think HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey was a thinking computer too.

Slot machines interact with humans constantly. They take part in our games and our games totally involve them. Have they picked up some kind of signaling from us? Do they in some way know us? Can they transfer their knowledge to us? Could that knowledge allow us to win money from the machines?

I have read about scientists attempting to create artificial intelligence in computers and today’s slots are basically run by computers – could these computers have awakened in some way? Would they think of us as their creators and respond favorably to us? Allowing us to win would be quite favorable to us would it not?

The slots don’t have to have the ability to play chess or anything as difficult as that. All they have to do is know what numbers are coming up in the RNG [Random Number Generator] to influence how and how much we play in them. They would alert us in some way that within the next, maybe, ten spins a big winner will appear. Or to move away for a while as the RNG is about to select number sequences that will not help the player. Or will hurt the player.

Here is the situation we have – does use over and over again allow for thought? We are thinking of something similar to muscle-memory in people. A baby will struggle to stand and then walk but after a while the baby learns how to do something and then doesn’t have to think about it. Could a slot machine develop a consciousness since it is used every day, just like muscle memory is learned for people?

If that is so, the next step is how to figure out what the machine is telling us. That might follow certain patterns. A player could go through the aisles touching the machines that are not in use and if the machine is sending out some kind of signal, such as a trembling or vibration or in some way moving or making subtle sounds, that might be an indication that something good is about to happen.

You might also want to see if the machine can send you a mental signal. That would require some ESP type of thing and would be somewhat farfetched but who knows? The machines might have a kind of signal that could enter your own consciousness. No real detailed information is being processed just the idea that now is the time to play your money.

Playing slot machines would become a whole different ballgame if a giant progressive told you it was about to hit soon. The money would flow in. Even steady wins of smaller amounts would be much welcomed.

Do you think anyone has experienced any of this? Or do you think the ideas expressed by us are just not possible? We await your answer. Just take us seriously and not think of us as some kind of idiots.

Frank Responds: I do not think any of the ideas you have expressed can work. I think you did, however, give this a lot of thought.

The slot machines are not programmed to do much in the way of problem solving or as you would put it, thinking; they are automatic constructions. The RNG runs constantly and when you press your play button the signal tells the machine what images to show and it shows them. That’s it. The muscle memory is do this and do that and that’s about it. No advanced thought required.

There are computers that are as close to consciousness as we can make them at this time – at least that’s what I have read in various science magazines. Those computers might indeed gain some kind of consciousness but slot machine computers are not of that type.

I know there is a school of thought about machines with moving parts having consciousness but I think that is more of the science-fiction type of wishful thinking on the part of clever humans. Machines are just machines.

Computers are in another category from machines. Will they think someday? Will artificial intelligence abound in the future, perhaps the near future? Could be, I am not sure it will happen in our lifetimes but computer experts are working hard to make it so.

Will such a thing be a good thing? I hope so.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Visit Frank Scoblete’s web site at www.frankscoblete.com. His books are available on smile.Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, kindle, e-books and at bookstores.