Date: December 4, 2024 (Wednesday)
Speaker: Dr Henry Shevlin, University of Cambridge
Chair: Dr Frank Hong, The University of Hong Kong
Organizers: AIH Lab and IDEAS-IDS
Abstract:
Recent rapid progress in artificial intelligence has prompted renewed interest in the possibility of consciousness in artificial systems. This talk argues that this question forces us to confront troubling methodological challenges for consciousness science. The surprising capabilities of large language models provide reason to think that many, if not all, cognitive capabilities will soon be within reach of artificial systems. However, these advancements do not help us resolve strictly metaphysical questions concerning substrate-independence, multiple realizability, or the connection between consciousness and life. Ultimately, I suggest that these questions are likely to be settled not by philosophical argument or scientific experimentation, but by patterns of interactions between humans and machines. As we form valuable and affectively-laden relationships with ever more intelligent machines, it will become progressively harder to treat them as non-conscious entities. Whether this shift will amount to a vindication of AI consciousness or a form of mass delusion remains far from obvious.
