People may not really know what artificial intelligence is but they are convinced that it will either utterly destroy humankind or lead us into a utopian Singularity between man and machine. But, as philosopher Susan Schneider reminds us, there’s much we don’t know about artificial intelligence, including the nature of consciousness itself. And consciousness, while it may be hard to identify, entails significant ethical obligations, a point that any fan of the HBO show Westworld will quickly grasp. These kinds of questions have been the object of philosophical debate for millennia and it’s a line of inquiry that we should understand before, and not after, we program the first conscious artificial intelligence.

What does it mean to design a mind? What is the ‘problem of other minds’? Why does the consciousness of AI matter? Can machines be conscious? Do you think Androids are conscious? Would we ever have anything like a Westworld with true violence? How much do you replace and you are still you?

Further Reading:

Artificial You: AI and the Future of Your Mind, written by Susan Schneider

‘Westworld’ Science Advisor Talks Brains and AI, written by Jeremy Hsu

Transcending the Brain? AI, Radical Brain Enhancement and the Nature of Consciousness, Susan Schneider at the Harvard Carr Center for Human Rights Policy

Spacetime Emergence, Panpsychism and the Nature of Consciousness, written by Susan Schneider

Related Content:

The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence is Best Left to Researchers, written by Ryan Khurana

Will Artificial Intelligence Take Your Job?, Building Tomorrow Podcast

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