The feasibility of artificial consciousness through the lens of neuroscience
Trends in Neurosciences June 1, 2023 DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2306.00915 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractClaims that large language models may soon be conscious are difficult to defend from a neuroscience perspective. The inputs to these models lack the embodied, embedded information content that characterizes sensory contact with the world. Present-day AI architectures also miss key features of the thalamocortical system linked to conscious awareness in mammals. Furthermore, the evolutionary and developmental trajectories that produced living conscious organisms have no parallels in current artificial systems. The existence of living organisms depends on actions and survival, which are linked to multi-level cellular, inter-cellular, and organismal processes that culminate in agency and consciousness.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Biology Computer science Medicine Philosophy |
| Key finding | From a neuroscience perspective, large language models are unlikely to be conscious because they lack embodied information, thalamocortical features, and evolutionary-developmental trajectories that underlie consciousness in living organisms. |
Abstract
Interactions with large language models (LLMs) have led to the suggestion that these models may soon be conscious. From the perspective of neuroscience, this position is difficult to defend. For one, the inputs to LLMs lack the embodied, embedded information content characteristic of our sensory contact with the world around us. Secondly, the architectures of present-day artificial intelligence algorithms are missing key features of the thalamocortical system that have been linked to conscious awareness in mammals. Finally, the evolutionary and developmental trajectories that led to the emergence of living conscious organisms arguably have no parallels in artificial systems as envisioned today. The existence of living organisms depends on their actions and their survival is intricately linked to multi-level cellular, inter-cellular, and organismal processes culminating in agency and consciousness.