Dissociating Artificial Intelligence from Artificial Consciousness
arXiv Preprint Archive December 5, 2024 Graham Findlay, William Marshall, Larissa Albantakis et al.
A digital computer could simulate human behavior without replicating subjective experience, according to Integrated Information Theory (IIT). Using simple Boolean units, the authors show that two systems can be functionally equivalent—one simulating the other—yet not phenomenally equivalent. This contradicts computational functionalism, which holds that performing the right computations is necessary and sufficient for consciousness. The analysis demonstrates that functional equivalence does not guarantee phenomenal equivalence, and this conclusion holds regardless of the simulated system's function. Even a computer that simulates neurons in the brain may not experience sights, sounds, or thoughts as humans do.