Artificial consciousness and the consciousness-attention dissociation.
Harry Haroutioun Haladjian, Carlos Montemayor
Consciousness and Cognition October 1, 2016 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2016.08.011 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Artificial consciousness Artificial intelligence Emotions Empathy Visual attention |
| Key points | Argues that phenomenal consciousness cannot be implemented in machines, and that emotions and empathy in AI would be merely simulations. |
Abstract
Artificial Intelligence is at a turning point, with a substantial increase in projects aiming to implement sophisticated forms of human intelligence in machines. This research attempts to model specific forms of intelligence through brute-force search heuristics and also reproduce features of human perception and cognition, including emotions. Such goals have implications for artificial consciousness, with some arguing that it will be achievable once we overcome short-term engineering challenges. We believe, however, that phenomenal consciousness cannot be implemented in machines. This becomes clear when considering emotions and examining the dissociation between consciousness and attention in humans. While we may be able to program ethical behavior based on rules and machine learning, we will never be able to reproduce emotions or empathy by programming such control systems-these will be merely simulations. Arguments in favor of this claim include considerations about evolution, the neuropsychological aspects of emotions, and the dissociation between attention and consciousness found in humans. Ultimately, we are far from achieving artificial consciousness.
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Citations in the library
Cited by 13
- The Neural Correlates of Consciousness and Attention: Two Sister Processes of the Brain Frontiers in Neuroscience October 31, 2019
- Integrated world modeling theory expanded: Implications for the future of consciousness. Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience November 24, 2022
- “Conscius sum, ergo sum?”: Phenomenal Manifestations of Human Self-Determination in the Context of Consciousness Psihologìâ ì suspìlʹstvo March 30, 2026
- Signs of consciousness in AI: Can GPT-3 tell how smart it really is? Humanities and Social Sciences Communications December 8, 2024
- A Philosophical Examination of Artificial Consciousness's Realizability from the Perspective of Adaptive Representation ISCAI November 22, 2024
and 8 more in the library
Cites 11
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- The rise of machine consciousness: studying consciousness with computational models. Neural Networks August 1, 2013
- Information integration without awareness. Trends in Cognitive Sciences September 2014
- Human consciousness and its relationship to social neuroscience: A novel hypothesis. Cognitive Neuroscience 2011
and 6 more in the library