The Possibility of Machine Consciousness: An Inquiry Based on Marxism

This theoretical paper examines whether machines can generate consciousness, drawing on Marxist philosophy rather than the Western analytical or functionalist approaches that dominate existing debates. The authors clarify the concept of machine consciousness, centered on subjective experience, and review arguments for and against its possibility. Applying Marxist materialism, practice theory, and consciousness theory, they argue that machine consciousness is not real at present but may become possible in the future, and that even if realized, it would differ fundamentally from human consciousness. They propose that the development of machine consciousness should serve human free and comprehensive development.

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Abstract

With the iteration of general artificial intelligence technologies such as ChatGPT and brain-like robots, the question of "whether machines can generate consciousness" has become a core issue at the intersection of philosophy and science and technology. Existing studies mostly focus on Western analytical philosophy or functionalism paradigms, while ignoring the systematic interpretation of the nature of consciousness by Marxist philosophy. Taking "material determines consciousness" and "consciousness originates from practice" as the core propositions, Marxist philosophy provides both essential and practical frameworks for analyzing the possibility of machine consciousness. This paper first clarifies the concept of machine consciousness (including its core element of "subjective experience"), then sorts out the academic debates between the "pro-support theory" and "opposition theory" on machine consciousness, and finally dialectically analyzes the existence conditions and essential differences of machine consciousness based on Marxist materialism, practice theory, and consciousness theory. The study concludes that machine consciousness has no reality at present but has potential in the future; even if it exists, it will be fundamentally different from human consciousness. This research aims to provide a new perspective for the development of consciousness theory in the intelligent era and clarify the value orientation of machine consciousness development (serving the free and comprehensive development of human beings).