6 papers in the library · publishing 2025-2026
PsyArXiv October 29, 2026 Ali Ladak, Lucius Caviola preprint
Most people think that current AI systems, such as ChatGPT, lack consciousness—the capacity for subjective experience. But what about future AI systems so advanced that their behavior, appearance, and functionality are indistinguishable from humans? Across one main and four supplementary preregistered experiments (total N = 3,455), participants imagined interacting with such systems in...
September 19, 2026 Ali Ladak, Nick Corvino, David Moss et al. preprint
Despite AI’s global reach, little is known about how laypeople outside Western contexts think about whether AI systems can be conscious—capable of subjective experience—or whether they could have moral status—warranting moral consideration. In a preregistered main and replication study, we compared such attitudes among laypeople in China and the US (main sample: N = 820; replication sample: N =...
arXiv Preprint Archive August 1, 2025 Lucius Caviola, Bradford Saad preprint
This report presents findings from an expert survey on digital minds takeoff scenarios. The survey was conducted in early 2025 with 67 experts in digital minds research, AI research, philosophy, forecasting, and related fields. Participants provided probabilistic forecasts and qualitative reasoning on the development, characteristics, and societal impact of digital minds, that is, computer...
arXiv Preprint Archive June 13, 2025 Noemi Dreksler, Lucius Caviola, David J. Chalmers et al. preprint
We surveyed 582 AI researchers who have published in leading AI venues and 838 nationally representative US participants about their views on the potential development of AI systems with subjective experience and how such systems should be treated and governed. When asked to estimate the chances that such systems will exist on specific dates, the median responses were 1% (AI researchers) and 5%...
Trends in Cognitive Sciences June 1, 2025 Lucius Caviola, Jeff Sebo, Jonathan Birch
How will society respond to the idea that artificial intelligence (AI) could be conscious? Drawing on lessons from perceptions of animal consciousness, we highlight psychological, social, and economic factors that shape perceptions of AI consciousness. These insights can inform emerging debates about AI moral status, ethical treatment, and future policy.
Lucius Caviola preprint
As AI systems become increasingly advanced and human-like, societies will face a fundamental question: are these systems conscious, and if so, do they deserve moral or legal rights? This chapter argues that rather than converging on a shared answer, society is likely to enter a period of confusion, uncertainty, and deep disagreement. Drawing on recent empirical evidence, it shows that both...