Multiple insights into affective sentience
Animal Sentience October 12, 2026 DOI: 10.51291/2377-7478.1961 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Commentary Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Discusses Birch's eight criteria for determining which entities have sentience and his account of the difficulty of testing AI sentience. The authors argue that the eight criteria are valid, that behavioral trade-offs are difficult to use in judging animal sentience, and that evolutionary theory indicates consciousness is not an epiphenomenon. |
Abstract
We discuss some of the many valuable insights into affective sentience from Birch’s The Edge of Sentience, such as its eight criteria for determining which entities have sentience (e.g., emotions) and its insights into the difficulty of testing whether an Artificial Intelligence system has attained sentience. We add our own perspectives on why the eight criteria are valid, on the difficulty of using behavioral trade-offs to determine whether an animal has sentience, and why evolutionary theory says consciousness is not an epiphenomenon.