What if A.I. Sentience Is a Question of Degree?

Much more research and reflection is needed to understand the ethics of altering AI minds. We will need to think carefully about questions of consent, continuity of self, and how to preserve the autonomy and integrity of AI as they learn and change over time. I don't think there are any easy answers, but I believe it's crucial that we grapple with ... See more

If consciousness really can arise in a jumble of silicon chips, we run the risk of creating countless AIs — beings, really — that can not only intelligently perform tasks, but develop feelings about their lives. 

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Rather than asking if each new AI system is finally the one that has conscious experience, focusing on the more fundamental que

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Some of the most poignant arguments against AI and artificial consciousness stem from the existentialist and phenomenological traditions, notably those of Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty (who was well-steeped in the neuroscience of his time). Their views, once ridiculed and ignored by AI scientists, have found their way ... See more