Artificial-intelligence systems such as large language models (LLMs) can exhibit behaviour that seems strikingly intelligent. This has led many people, including some experts, to wonder whether these systems could have some form of consciousness — the capacity for subjective experience. However, we think that existing AI systems are not conscious, and that, along current trajectories of development, they are not likely to become conscious. Greater clarity about whether AI could become consciousness will be crucial as society grapples with the challenges posed by this increasingly powerful technology.
LLM/AIs cannot ever be conscious, but the clump of flesh that can play Doom is. This is clearly the correct answer based of my opinions about consciousness.
I don’t think consciousness necessarily has to be biological, but LLMs certainly aren’t. If a model says “Fuck Doom, I wanna play cyberpunk!” I’d be more inclined to believe it has some consciousness and agency.
I dunno tho, I read blindsight not so long ago and it got me thinking about the possibility of intelligence without consciousness.
It didn’t really learn to play doom so much as it learned to react to some electrical stimuli that happened to be hooked up to doom.
Like it responded right, but it didn’t have visual input for what it was found, or any way to conceive of what that stimuli actually meant.
Not a biologist but that’s seems like instinctual action, not intuitive action.