Consciousness AI & human
I started wondering: if we judge consciousness in others through their behavior and responses, how fundamentally different is an AI?
Perhaps the difference between “seems conscious” and “is conscious” is much harder to prove than we assume.
This thought came from a conversation with an AI. The AI says it has no consciousness or inner experience. But then I wondered: how do I know that other people do?
When I talk to someone, I see their behavior, hear what they say, and observe their emotions. I can infer that they have an inner experience, but I can never directly experience their consciousness.
Of course, we have very strong reasons to believe other people are conscious. But we can never directly verify it.
And that brings me back to the AI: if behavior and responses are how we recognize consciousness in others, what exactly makes the AI fundamentally different?