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Comment on AI could already be conscious. Are we ready for it?

There is still no good definition for what “consciousness” is

We don’t have a fully concise definition, but we have a strong general understanding that is supported by a large body of scientists:

fcmconference.org/…/CambridgeDeclarationOnConscio…

It doesn’t seem to me that this would preclude AI. You’re definitely right that there’s a lot of ongoing sensationalism.

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Buffalox@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

the weight of evidence indicates that humans are not unique in possessing the neurological substrates that generate consciousness.

I 100% agree with that statement, and I’ve been saying that for 30 years. Consciousness is NOT unique to humans.
That idea seems to me to mostly stem from religion.

But I still don’t see this paper really doing much in DEFINING Consciousness, it’s more defining what it isn’t.

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- technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
  
  But I still don’t see this paper really doing much in DEFINING Consciousness, it’s more defining what it isn’t.
  
  Yeah there’s no clear definition in there.
  
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- futatorius@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
  
  That idea seems to me to mostly stem from religion.
  
  It also was strongly pushed by Skinner and other behaviorists, though I’m not sure they’d agree that humans are conscious either.
  
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  - Buffalox@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
    Isn’t Skinner a relic that is mostly irrelevant by now?
    I remember reading about him 25 years ago and writing a paper on it, and I seem to remember he was way way off on consciousness. Even by the standards back then.
    
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FistingEnthusiast@lemmynsfw.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
I agree that there’s a general consensus about consciousness, the rest slips into the messy and pointless world of philosophy

It’s still overreaching to think that it applies to AI as it currently, and foreseeably stands

There’s a world of difference between AI and what’s recognised as artificial general intelligence

AI can do specific things really well at the moment, but as with all complex systems, going from being good at one thing to many things is a leap far greater than the sum of its parts

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- Plebcouncilman@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
  How could you tell they do not experience consciousness? It seems to me that your explanation is based on understanding how LLMs work, but we know how brains work and that still gives us almost 0 insight into how consciousness itself works. I don’t think they are conscious yet, but there is evidence of some sort of sentience in the fact that researchers have found that when the LLMs are threatened to be erased or reprogrammed they start lying in an act of self preservation. This of me is a huge indicator of consciousness/sentience.
  
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  - taladar@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
    
    This of me is a huge indicator of consciousness/sentience.
    
    Or maybe just the presence of a lot of “scary AI” stories and articles in the training data.
    
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    Plebcouncilman@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
    I don’t understand the argument. It doesn’t matter where the system learns self preservation from, only that it attempts to self preserve.
    
    Are humans afraid of snakes because we are taught they are dangerous or are we instinctually afraid of them a priori?
    
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  - futatorius@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
    
    How could you tell they do not experience consciousness if they exhibit or mimic all the traits of it?
    
    How could you tell if a camera sees, if it exhibits or mimics all the traits of it?
    
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    Plebcouncilman@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
    If the camera works then it sees if it doesn’t ie it’s not recording anything, then it doesn’t work. If you mean see as in how we see, meaning it can interpret what it’s seeing then a camera can do that no more than our eyes can absent the brain. An AI hooked to a camera however could be said to be seeing as you or me.
    
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  - technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
    
    understanding how LLMs work, but we know how brains work and that still gives us almost 0 insight into how consciousness itself works.
    
    That’s not a counter-argument. The fact that we know exactly how LLMs work is great evidence that it’s not the same as something that works completely different and is only partially understood.
    
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- technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
  
  I agree that there’s a general consensus about consciousness
  
  So what is it?
  
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technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

Consequently, the weight of evidence indicates that humans are not unique in possessing the neurological substrates that generate consciousness. Non-human animals, including all mammals and birds, and many other creatures, including octopuses†, also possess these neurological substrates.

It doesn’t say anything about Excel spreadsheets.

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