Artificial Minds and Ethical Standing_ Ontology, Uncertainty, and Responsibility
Scientific Journal of Technology December 20, 2025 Yiting Min
This essay argues that as advanced AI systems increasingly resemble minded agents, theuncertainty surrounding artificial consciousness carries moral consequences. While wecannot determine whether machines possess subjective experience, theories ofmind—including functionalism and critiques like Searle’s—show that their status remainsontologically open. Because the cost of wrongly denying...