Do you think AI is, or could become, conscious?
I think AI might one day emulate consciousness to a high level of accuracy, but that wouldn’t mean it would actually be conscious.
This article mentions a Google engineer who “argued that AI chatbots could feel things and potentially suffer”. But surely in order to “feel things” you would need a nervous system right? When you feel pain from touching something very hot, it’s your nerves that are sending those pain signals to your brain… right?
FistingEnthusiast@lemmynsfw.com 1 week ago
There is still no good definition for what “consciousness” is
Tech writers are constantly overreaching because they’re afraid to miss out on being the first to say something
The constant sensationalism just means that if something really happens, people will ignore it because we’re sick of hearing people cry “wolf!”
Buffalox@lemmy.world 1 week ago
This is absolutely the main problem, the only “definition” we have is “I think therefore I am”, but that only works subjectively.
We have no way currently to prove consciousness in an AI. And as you say, we don’t even have a solid definition commonly agreed upon.
I believe we will achieve consciousness on a human level in AI within a decade.
I also believe consciousness is a gradual thing, and just because animals aren’t as smart as we are, doesn’t mean they aren’t “conscious”.
technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 days ago
Have you ever seen 2001 A Space Odyssey?
futatorius@lemm.ee 6 days ago
Or maybe you’re not talking to the smart computer people at all.
Enkers@sh.itjust.works 1 week ago
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.
Buffalox@lemmy.world 1 week ago
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.
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
technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 days ago
It doesn’t say anything about Excel spreadsheets.
madame_gaymes@programming.dev 6 days ago
never cry shitwolf
Opinionhaver@feddit.uk 6 days ago
Quite widely accepted definition among philosophers and scientists is “the fact of felt experience” Which is basically how Thoman Nagel defined it in his essay “What’s it like to be a bat”
tabular@lemmy.world 1 week ago
I can +1 your whole post if I exclude the start. If we talk about it we may discover we mean the same, or similar, when we say “consciousness”. What other purpose is there for word definitions?
FistingEnthusiast@lemmynsfw.com 1 week ago
There’s a general scientific consensus based on data and measurement, with the understanding that it’s slippery
It is constantly under assault from those who want AI to be conscious, because they get a headline, or they are true believers in some technocratic future, or they’re just fantasists