The recent open letter regarding AI consciousness on which you report (AI systems could be ‘caused to suffer’ if consciousness achieved, says research, 3 February) highlights a genuine moral problem: if we create conscious AI (whether deliberately or inadvertently) then we would have a duty not to cause it to suffer.
AI is developing fast, but regulators must be faster | Letters Dr Tom McClelland on the consequences of AI consciousness, Michael Webb on protecting creative industries, and Prof Virginia Dignum and Prof Wendy Hall on the need for a global regulatory framework.
Although we can look for indicators of consciousness in AI, it is very difficult – perhaps impossible – to know whether an AI is actually conscious or merely presenting the outward signs of consciousness.
Some promising theories of consciousness do indeed open the door to AI consciousness.
Given how deep these problems run, the only reasonable stance to take on artificial consciousness is an agnostic one.
