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Three reasons why "AI" is not conscious and perhaps never will be (www.nature.com)
submitted 1 week ago by technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/technology@lemmy.world
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Artificial-intelligence systems such as large language models (LLMs) can exhibit behaviour that seems strikingly intelligent. This has led many people, including some experts, to wonder whether these systems could have some form of consciousness — the capacity for subjective experience. However, we think that existing AI systems are not conscious, and that, along current trajectories of development, they are not likely to become conscious. Greater clarity about whether AI could become consciousness will be crucial as society grapples with the challenges posed by this increasingly powerful technology.

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[-] Artisian@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

And point 3, as far as I can tell from this argument, isn't serious. It merely asserts that there are some models of consciousness that would prevent us from using the term for AI. But the models aren't 'popular', 'widespread', or justified at all afaict. It's just that the author has a pet causal mechanism they made up. It's also pretty abelist by my read.

integrated information theory (IIT), starts from the essential properties of consciousness — those that are true of every experience we can have. For instance, we experience every visual scene as a single, integrated whole: its left and right side, colours and shapes are bound together to make the experience what it is.

In other words, if you've got any sort of trouble integrating a visual scene, then you aren't conscious. Sure.

this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2026
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