Consciousness is not "universal" but depends on specifically organized biological affordances.
Eva Jablonka, Simona Ginsburg, Zohar Z Bronfman
Behavioral and Brain Sciences September 17, 2026 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x25103683 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that evolved, minimal consciousness requires a complex cognitive-affective architecture that depends on the material, ontogenetic, memory, and evaluative affordances of living organisms, and that non-biological AI robots' computations do not render their operations conscious. |
Abstract
Seth's claim that only biological or biological-like systems can be conscious leaves open the question of what renders only some organisms conscious. We address this question by pointing to the material, ontogenetic, memory, and evaluative affordances of living organisms and arguing that evolved, minimal consciousness requires complex cognitive-affective architecture for which these biological affordances are obligatory. Conscious thinking of humans cannot be separated from minimal consciousness, and non-biological AI robots' computations do not render these operations conscious.