The feasibility of artificial consciousness through the lens of neuroscience

2023/06/01 by Jaan Aru, Matthew Larkum, Matthew E. Larkum +4 · 2 voices · 9 citations
Engineering · Neuroscience · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Agency (philosophy) #Artificial intelligence #Biology #Cognitive science #Communication #Computer science #Consciousness #Ecology #Embodied cognition #Engineering #Epistemology #Key (lock) #Language and cultural evolution #Neuroscience #Parallels #Perspective (graphical) #Philosophy #Psychology #Systems neuroscience

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2306.00915

published in arXiv (Cornell University) (Cornell University)

openalex publication_date 2023/06/01 · openalex created_date 2023/06/04 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Interactions with large language models have led to the suggestion that these models may soon be conscious. From the perspective of neuroscience, this position is difficult to defend. For one, the inputs to large language models lack the embodied, embedded information content characteristic of our sensory contact with the world around us. Secondly, the architecture of large language models is missing key features of the thalamocortical system that have been linked to conscious awareness in mammals. Finally, the evolutionary and developmental trajectories that led to the emergence of living conscious organisms arguably have no parallels in artificial systems as envisioned today. The existence of living organisms depends on their actions, and their survival is intricately linked to multi-level cellular, inter-cellular, and organismal processes culminating in agency and consciousness.

Cited by

• On biological and artificial consciousness: A case for biological computationalism
• Does It Make Sense to Speak of Introspection in Large Language Models?
• Does neural computation feel like something?
• Identifying features that shape perceived consciousness in LLM-based AI: A quantitative study of human responses
• Interoceptive machine framework: Toward interoception-inspired regulatory architectures in artificial intelligence
• AI Consciousness and Existential Risk
• Consciousness in Artificial Intelligence? A Framework for Classifying Objections and Constraints
• Dangerous liaisons: social AI and the problem with the relational turn to moral status
• The Ethical Paradox of Automation: AI Moral Status as a Challenge to the End of Human Work

Discussions

• Our view on the feasibility of artificial consciousness. We approach the question mainly from the perspective of biology/neuroscience and conclude that we are still far from conscious machines. w @m [bsky, 21 points, 0 comments]
• The feasibility of artificial consciousness through the lens of neuroscience [hn, 5 points, 1 comments]

Related

• Could a Large Language Model be Conscious?
• On biological and artificial consciousness: A case for biological computationalism
• Is artificial consciousness achievable? Lessons from the human brain
• The Emergent Self: A Synthetic Neuroscience Framework for Understanding Consciousness, Agency, and Survival Drives in Large Language Models
• A Disproof of Large Language Model Consciousness: The Necessity of Continual Learning for Consciousness