This paper explores how the development of real-world artificial agents could lead to the evolution of machine consciousnesses with their own moral standards, and give rise to artificial intelligences that subscribe to Robocentrism; an ethical perspective that prioritizes the welfare of artificial agents. In doing so, it explores relevant concepts from contemporary, as well as more traditional...
Additional data, supported by relevant functional neuroimaging literature, confirm that the “normal” patterns of brain activity reported in a patient who was clinically diagnosed as vegetative could not have occurred “automatically” in the absence of conscious awareness. The most parsimonious explanation remains that this patient was consciously aware despite her diagnosis of vegetative state.
We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to demonstrate preserved conscious awareness in a patient fulfilling the criteria for a diagnosis of vegetative state. When asked to imagine playing tennis or moving around her home, the patient activated predicted cortical areas in a manner indistinguishable from that of healthy volunteers.