The question of AI consciousness is one of the most urgent pre-emptive problems in philosophy and computer science, yet progress is hampered by a cacophony of competing theories that often talk past each other. Separating the hard problem from the mapping problem allows the deepest metaphysical disagreements to be set aside: granting that experience supervenes on a system's organisation, the...
Future disagreement about whether any AI systems are conscious could be both deep and difficult to resolve. For example, some people might develop emotional bonds with AI and ascribe consciousness as a result, while others might see the whole idea as absurd. The resulting disagreement about consciousness could lead to moral and political disagreement about how we should interact with AI...