The meta-problem and the transfer of knowledge between theories of consciousness: a software engineer's take
arXiv Preprint Archive February 18, 2019 preprint
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Q-bio.nc Cs.ai Consciousness Artificial intelligence Machine cognition |
| Key points | Argues that physical agent architectures may support qualia, implying machine consciousness is possible, and that subliminal layers of consciousness may underlie phenomenal intuitions and explain subliminal perception phenomena. |
Abstract
This contribution examines two radically different explanations of our phenomenal intuitions, one reductive and one strongly non-reductive, and identifies two germane ideas that could benefit many other theories of consciousness. Firstly, the ability of sophisticated agent architectures with a purely physical implementation to support certain functional forms of qualia or proto-qualia appears to entail the possibility of machine consciousness with qualia, not only for reductive theories but also for the nonreductive ones that regard consciousness as ubiquitous in Nature. Secondly, analysis of introspective psychological material seems to hint that, under the threshold of our ordinary waking awareness, there exist further 'submerged' or 'subliminal' layers of consciousness which constitute a hidden foundation and support and another source of our phenomenal intuitions. These 'submerged' layers might help explain certain puzzling phenomena concerning subliminal perception, such as the apparently 'unconscious' multisensory integration and learning of subliminal stimuli.