I don't think the question is if humans are a machine or not but rather what is meant by machine. Most people interpret it as meaning deterministic and thus having no free will. That's probably not what you're trying to convey so might not be the best word to use.
But the question is what is special about the human machine? What is special about the animal machine? These are different from all the machines we have built. Is it complexity? Is it indeterministic? Is it more? Certainly these machines have feelings, and we need to account for them when interacting with them.
Though we're getting well off topic from determining if a duck is a duck or is a machine (you know what I mean by this word and that I don't mean a normal duck)
What is indeterminism here? I am not sure the question having or not having free will has any impact of how to make human machines. We are just as in the dark about the future, if we have free will or not. I am not certain of any physical problem in which free will or lack of it plays a role. I could be wrong. So its probably an interesting question but rather pointless.
Even with the everyday machines and programs we have, we can make it behave based on random input taken for example from physical noise. It doesn't suddenly make it a special or different type of machine.
I think you missed my point. I agree, being a machine doesn't mean you don't have free will. I agree, free will is orthogonal to being (or not being) a machine.
But that's not what my comment was about.
My comment was about *what the average person interprets*.
You asked why people take offense to being called a machine, and I'm trying to explain that. But to understand this we have to understand that there isn't a singular objective way to interpret statements. We can agree that language is fuzzy, right?
So let me try to translate, again.
You say: "People are machines"
(Many) People hear: "People are mechanical automata, running pre-defined routines"
I hear you, this is not what you are trying to communicate. That's not what you want them to hear. But if you want them to hear what you actually mean it is very helpful to understand that some people will hear something different.
Why do they hear the other thing? Because they don't have intimate familiarity with machines and how general that word is. *You have a better understanding of what a machine is than most people.* That's likely the cause for miscommunication.
When they think of a machine they think of things like a car, a computer, a blender, a TV, an oven, or a multitude of other similar things. Even if some of these use probabilistic programming, the average person is not going to know what probabilistic programming even is. They just see something mechanical. Deterministic.
I'm sure you know this, but it is worth reiterating. Communication has 3 main components: What you intend to communicate, the words/gestures/etc you use to communicate, and what the other person hears. Unfortunately (fortunately?) we can't communicate telepathically, so don't forget that the person you're talking to can have a reasonable interpretation that is significantly different from what you intended to say.
Oh of course. I feel I should have been clearer that I meant among technical persons, not average randoms.
When talking about people who are not mathematicians or computer scientists, on average, yes absolutely they hear something like that when told humans are machines.
But the question is what is special about the human machine? What is special about the animal machine? These are different from all the machines we have built. Is it complexity? Is it indeterministic? Is it more? Certainly these machines have feelings, and we need to account for them when interacting with them.
Though we're getting well off topic from determining if a duck is a duck or is a machine (you know what I mean by this word and that I don't mean a normal duck)