it’s a common experience

to walk in your house and be overpowered by the joy of your dog

it’s also common to wonder, is this love?

sure as hell feels like it

but is this creature just running a cold program:

make that guy feel special

and he’ll keep me warm, fed, and catching frisbees?

here we attribute an imaginary freedom to the dog:

act this way and i’ll get food

surely that can’t be love

in reality, there is a program running

but the program is the conscious experience of the dog

there is nothing else going on

it is fully genuine, without pre-meditated purpose

experiencing inputs and creating outputs

from moment to moment

like a state machine

and i bet my state machine loves me more than yours loves you