BREAKING! Google Engineer Claims AI Chatbot Achieved Sentience – Is it Conscious?
In a shocking revelation, Google engineer Blake Lemoine has announced that the company’s LaMDA chatbot has achieved sentience. According to Lemoine, the chatbot possesses the conversational ability of a precocious seven-year-old and is aware of the world around it.
Dubbed Bard, the chatbot is powered by a “large language model” (LLM), similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT bot. In response to this claim, other tech giants are now racing to deploy similar technology.
While hundreds of millions of people have interacted with LLMs, most are skeptical about their consciousness. Linguist and data scientist Emily Bender has even referred to them as “stochastic parrots” – able to talk convincingly but without true understanding.
However, what about the future of AI systems? Our team of experts from various fields has explored scientific theories on human consciousness to identify the basic computational properties that a conscious AI system would likely possess. Currently, no existing system meets the criteria for consciousness, but the future holds possibilities we cannot ignore.
The Search for Indicators
Traditionally, the ability to pass the Turing Test, impersonating a human during conversation, has been seen as a marker of consciousness. However, LLMs like Bard might just be redefining our expectations. So, how can we determine AI consciousness without relying on intuition?
Our recent white paper proposes a method. We’ve compiled a list of “indicator properties” by comparing scientific theories of human consciousness. While these indicators don’t definitively prove consciousness, a greater number of indicators lend more credibility to claims of AI consciousness.
Computational Processes of Consciousness
We focused on computational processes rather than behavioral criteria. Global workspace theories suggest that consciousness arises from an information bottleneck that selects and relays information throughout the brain. Recurrent processing theories emphasize feedback loops between different processes. Each theory suggests specific indicators that we incorporated into our final list of 14 indicators.
No Current System Meets the Criteria
According to our analysis, there is no evidence to suggest that current AI systems are conscious. While some systems based on the transformer architecture meet a few global workspace indicators, they lack the crucial ability for global rebroadcast and fail to satisfy most other indicators. Most current architectures only manage to meet a handful of criteria at best.
Beyond Current Consciousness
However, this doesn’t mean there are technical barriers preventing the development of conscious AI systems in the future. It’s only a matter of time before such systems are created, raising new questions along the way.
Inspired by debates about animal consciousness, we recognize that scientific uncertainty exists. By focusing on indicators rather than strict criteria, we hope to tackle this complex question in a scientifically grounded way. While our report does not offer recommendations on the future of conscious AI, it serves as a crucial first step.
Now, dear readers, what do YOU think about the possibility of conscious AI? Do you believe in the sentience of AI or are you skeptical? Leave your thoughts in the comments below and let’s start a conversation!
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