Das Problem ist nicht, ob KI bei Bewusstsein ist (es ist nicht) – es ist, wie die Illusion von Bewusstsein unser Verhalten prägt [BBC interview with consciousness scientists]

Here’s my submission statement, a BBC science correspondent interviews leading consciousness researchers who argue that current AI is not conscious and likely won’t be anytime soon. But they warn that the illusion of consciousness could corrode our moral priorities, reshape our relationships, and lead us to trust and care for machines over real people. LLMs seem empathetic, aware, or alive, and can lead people into something like a parasocial relationship.

In my opinion, the apocalyptic speculation about what a future all-powerful AI could do obfuscates the real problems in the world today (like social isolation, mental health, and the erosion of creative freedom and originality) which AI is already beginning to profoundly affect.

[Source quote]:

„The more immediate problem, though, could be how the illusion of machines being conscious affects us. […] It will mean that we trust these things more, share more data with them and be more open to persuasion.“

Since there is no established proof of the source of consciousness, forming an opinion on the consciousness of any intelligent system is speculative.

How can you say something is not consciousness if science doesn’t even know what consciousness is?

This matrix plot line is writing itself.