Answering Key Questions About AI Consciousness That’s In The Spotlight Right Now

In today’s column, I examine and answer ten key questions about AI consciousness that are currently being asked in the mainstream news and on social media. Turns out that these are questions that I regularly get sent to me by inquisitive readers, and that come up avidly during my many talks at AI conferences and industry events.

Before we get into the questions, please brace yourself for something that might be disheartening. Whereas many of the talking heads on the news will contend that there are definitively right or wrong answers to these AI consciousness questions, do not believe their bravado. No one, not even the most allegedly stellar AI experts, can give you rock-solid answers to these highly challenging and extraordinarily vexing questions. My aim here is to share with you what is known in our present day, give you the ups and the downs, and ensure that you are ready to engage in a spirited debate or perhaps heated argument with anyone vested in the AI consciousness conundrum.

Let’s talk about it. This analysis of AI breakthroughs is part of my ongoing Forbes column coverage of the latest in AI, including identifying and explaining key AI complexities (see the link here

Incessant Chatter About AI Consciousness

Everyone seems to be talking about AI consciousness these days. It is a popular and highly persistent topic that goes back to the earliest days of AI, beginning in the 1950s when AI was first devised (see my historical tracing at the link here). In addition, the overarching topic of human consciousness and the essential nature of consciousness in living beings has its roots in ancient philosophy. One of the most famous comments about consciousness traces back to Descartes and his now-classic “I think, therefore I am” remark. He suggested that even without comprehending how consciousness works, his own existence and his thinking prowess were sufficiently self-evident to attest to the existence of consciousness.