We used to think that the earth is flat. Galileo was convicted of heresy for teaching that the earth isn’t the center of the universe and that it revolves around the sun. We used to ridicule scientists claiming that invisible germs could harm us (until we could see them through advanced microscopes). The list could go on and on. It’s easy in

... See more

And indeed, the growing questions about AI consciousness only highlight the unknowability of consciousness in general. We can’t even prove other humans aren’t “philosophical zombies” lacking inner experience, much less grasp animal consciousness after coexisting with animals for millennia. If we can’t definitively confirm firsthand experience in... See more

To return to the issue of subjectivity, consider: is the reinstantiated mind the same consciousness as the person we just scanned? But it is not easily resolved, or even readily understood. How do we distinguish a process that is conscious from one that just acts as if it is conscious?We can’t simply ask it. If it says “Hey I’m conscious,” does... See more