Substrates, computations, and abundant consciousness: Commentary on Anil Seth
Behavioral and Brain Sciences 2026 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x2510349x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that under a panpsychist background theory, the debate between computational and biological views of consciousness becomes less central, and that we should default to accepting a non-biological system's self-ascriptions of consciousness even if it could not have our consciousness. |
Abstract
Abstract Seth opposes computational views of consciousness to views that emphasise biology, because they imply different verdicts about hypothetical AIs that replicate information-processing without being biologically alive. But if we accept a background theory like panpsychism, on which consciousness is abundant in nature, this opposition becomes less central: even if a non-biological system could not have our consciousness, we should still default to accepting any self-ascriptions of consciousness it makes.