What is it Like to Be a Bot: Simulated, Situated, Structurally Coherent Qualia (S3Q) Theory of Consciousness
arXiv Preprint Archive March 13, 2021 K. Schmidt, J. Culbertson, C. Cox et al.
A new theory proposes that consciousness arises from representational affordances grounded in qualia, the basic units of conscious experience. The theory integrates neuroscience to guide the development of artificially conscious computing by balancing simulation, situatedness, and structural coherence in representations. Representations that achieve a suitable mix of situated and structurally coherent simulation-based qualia are hypothesized to give an agent the flexibility needed to succeed in rapidly changing environments. The approach draws on converging evidence from neuroscientific and modeling experiments.