Program on Brain, Mind, and Consciousness, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Canada; Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science, Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.
2 papers in the library · 69 citations · publishing 2025
In a structured public debate at the 2022 meeting of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness, proponents of five major theories—Global Neuronal Workspace Theory, Higher-Order Theories, Integrated Information Theory, Recurrent Processing Theory, and Predictive Processing—clarified their theories' core mechanisms, foundational premises, and what each theory aims to explain. The discussion revealed more controversy than agreement, particularly on the most basic questions: what consciousness is, how to identify conscious states, and what any adequate theory must account for. Addressing these foundational disagreements is essential for advancing the field and enabling meaningful comparison of competing theories.
Consciousness in artificial intelligence is unlikely on current technological trajectories because computation alone is insufficient to generate it. Instead, consciousness depends on our nature as living organisms—a view called biological naturalism. People may mistakenly think AI could become conscious due to cognitive biases. Conscious AI becomes more plausible only as systems become more brain-like or life-like. Ethical considerations arise from AI that either is, or convincingly appears to be, conscious. Overestimating machine consciousness risks underestimating our own selves.