Human Consciousness is Not an Algorithm: A Critique of Comparing Mind and Machine
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that equating statistical pattern recognition in large language models with genuine consciousness conflates distinct categories, and that this confusion has produced ethical and intellectual compromises. The paper proposes to clarify what human consciousness is and is not in order to disentangle these debates. |
Abstract
In recent years, countless articles, media debates, and online discussions have proliferated across journalism, philosophy, theology, and science. Since 2023, the public release of large language models such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini has further reignited debates on machine awareness. While these systems can simulate dialogue and creativity at unprecedented scales, scholars increasingly caution against equating statistical pattern recognition with genuine consciousness (Doe & Alvarez, 2023; Kim, 2024). The result has frequently been confusion, conflation of categories, and ethical or intellectual compromises. This paper seeks to disentangle these threads by clarifying what human consciousness is—and what it is not.