On a heuristic approach to the description of consciousness as a hypercomplex system state and the possibility of machine consciousness (German edition)
arXiv Preprint Archive September 3, 2024 Peer reviewed via arXiv
Summary
Consciousness in humans may have a physical but imaginary hypercomplex basis, requiring a bicomplex algebra to describe processes that cannot be measured yet exist. This mathematical framework could allow generating hypercomplex system states on machines, potentially leading to artificial consciousness. The surprising performance of advanced AI systems hints at such states, though experimental proof is lacking. The paper develops the bicomplex algebra and explores its application to create hypercomplex energy states, which in the literature are called machine consciousness, and explains how artificial consciousness might benefit future AI systems.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Consciousness may have a hypercomplex imaginary basis describable by bicomplex algebra, which could be used to generate machine consciousness in AI systems. |
Abstract
This article presents a heuristic view that shows that the inner states of consciousness experienced by every human being have a physical but imaginary hypercomplex basis. The hypercomplex description is necessary because certain processes of consciousness cannot be physically measured in principle, but nevertheless exist. Based on theoretical considerations, it could be possible - as a result of mathematical investigations into a so-called bicomplex algebra - to generate and use hypercomplex system states on machines in a targeted manner. The hypothesis of the existence of hypercomplex system states on machines is already supported by the surprising performance of highly complex AI systems. However, this has yet to be proven. In particular, there is a lack of experimental data that distinguishes such systems from other systems, which is why this question will be addressed in later articles. This paper describes the developed bicomplex algebra and possible applications of these findings to generate hypercomplex energy states on machines. In the literature, such system states are often referred to as machine consciousness. The article uses mathematical considerations to explain how artificial consciousness could be generated and what advantages this would have for such AI systems.