Key Points:
We may never know if AI is truly conscious. A philosopher who studies consciousness says the most honest position is agnosticism. There is no reliable way to tell whether a machine is aware, and that may not change anytime soon.
A philosopher who studies consciousness says the most honest position is agnosticism. There is no reliable way to tell whether a machine is aware, and that may not change anytime soon. That uncertainty creates room for hype. According to Dr. Tom McClelland, tech companies could take advantage of the lack of clear evidence to market AI as reaching a "next level of AI cleverness," even when there is no proof of genuine consciousness.
According to Dr. Tom McClelland, tech companies could take advantage of the lack of clear evidence to market AI as reaching a "next level of AI cleverness," even when there is no proof of genuine consciousness. Believing machines can feel carries real risks. McClelland warns that forming emotional bonds based on the assumption that AI is conscious, when it is not, could be deeply harmful, calling the effect "existentially toxic."
Why AI Consciousness Is So Hard to Pin Down
A philosopher at the University of Cambridge says we lack the basic evidence needed to determine whether artificial intelligence can become conscious, or when that might happen. According to Dr. Tom McClelland, the tools required to test for machine consciousness simply do not exist, and there is little reason to expect that to change anytime soon.
As the idea of artificial consciousness moves out of science fiction and into serious ethical debate, McClelland argues that the most reasonable position is uncertainty. He describes agnosticism as the only defensible stance, because there is no reliable way to know whether an AI system is truly conscious, and that uncertainty may persist indefinitely.
Consciousness vs Sentience in AI Ethics
Discussions about AI rights often focus on consciousness itself, but McClelland says that awareness alone does not carry ethical weight. What truly matters is a specific form of consciousness called sentience, which involves the capacity to feel pleasure or pain.
"Consciousness would see AI develop perception and become self-aware, but this can still be a neutral state," said McClelland, from Cambridge's Department of History and Philosophy of Science.
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