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This is why we need to beat the “AI is conscious” idea down into the earth whenever we can. If people believe it, they will absolutely prioritise the well-being of Claude over the well-being of actual conscious humans.

Dr Abeba Birhane@abeba.blacksky.app

i need the “llms are might be conscious” folx to read this

3/10/26, 1:31 am2 reposts8 likes

Because Language (becauselangpod)

@becauselanguage.com

It’s software. We made it. Is a book conscious? Yes, it seems alive to you, and that is because it is performing a massive exploit on your human brain, borrowing language-based notions of what consciousness is

Because Language (becauselangpod)

@becauselanguage.com

Okay, so to answer my question: is an AI agent conscious? Maybe for some definitions of conscious, because conscious is a word that we used to describe certain states of awareness that we see. I’m a conscious being, but not when I’m asleep. So yes, there may be a tormented definition that fits.

Because Language (becauselangpod)

@becauselanguage.com

But do they have feelings? Stop being a big silly.

Because Language (becauselangpod)

@becauselanguage.com

In the end it’s not a good question, because it’s not falsifiable. We can never get into the “brain” of a machine or another mind. The universe in which A is true looks exactly like the universe in which B is true. Define the question better.