The stuff matters: Consciousness, computation, and biology

Abstract

Abstract I was delighted, challenged, and somewhat overwhelmed by the breadth and depth of the commentaries elicited by the target article. I am very grateful to every one of my commentators for offering such thoughtful perspectives. Here, I attempt to isolate some common themes and offer some thoughts in response. One conclusion is immediately evident: it is increasingly urgent to think clearly about the prospects for conscious AI and about the consequences of seemingly conscious AI. The commentaries also flesh out the potential for an exciting research programme investigating the substrate dependence of both consciousness and cognition.