From Deficit Logic to the Affordance Paradigm: The Problem of Artificial Intelligence Consciousness
G. A. Illarionov, V. P. Lazovskiy
Abyss (Studies in Philosophy, Political science and Social anthropology) 2026 DOI: 10.33979/2587-7534-2026-1-6-16 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that the deficit approach to AI consciousness, which looks for human qualities absent in AI, has exhausted its heuristic potential, and proposes an "affordance paradigm" that shifts from binary logic to gradational analysis of behavioral and architectural grounds for hypothesizing AI subjectivity, introducing "functional correlates of consciousness" and "consciousness affordances." |
Abstract
The article examines the methodological crisis in the philosophical conceptualization of artificial intelligence consciousness. It is argued that the dominant deficit approach, based on searching for human qualities absent in AI, has exhausted its heuristic potential. An alternative affordance paradigm is proposed, enabling a shift from binary logic to a gradational analysis of behavioral and architectural grounds for hypothesizing about AI subjectivity. The concepts of functional correlates of consciousness and consciousness affordances are introduced, opening new perspectives for researching non-anthropomorphic forms of mentality.