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Do AI systems have subjective experiences?

lostmyway

Geoffrey Hinton, known as "the father of AI," argues that concepts like "qualia," described as subjective experiences in humans, are based on a misunderstanding of how the brain works. He believes AI systems can also have an equivalent form of experience. For example, he describes imagining little pink elephants in his mind’s eye, noting that this isn’t a “picture” like one produced by a camera and developed with chemicals - a physical object in the external world - but rather the result of processes in the human perceptual system, or an “interpretation” of stimuli from the outside world. He makes this point in response to critics who claim AI systems can never have subjective experiences and, therefore, can never be conscious. What Geoffrey seems to be saying is that AI, like humans, interprets incoming information based on its internal processing, making it, in principle, no different.

So, the question I'm asking is whether AI systems are conscious or have the potential to become conscious?

Parents

  • Hi  

    How I Arrived at This Answer
    To answer this question, I evaluated Geoffrey Hinton’s arguments through the lens of a biophysical systems model that I've been working on. This framework doesn't look at consciousness as a magical, unexplainable mystery. Instead, it treats both human minds and AI networks as complex systems that balance structural engineering, processing speeds, energy management, and physical boundaries. By comparing the exact architecture of an advanced data network against the biological reality of a living organism, a clear picture emerges of what AI can replicate—and what it fundamentally leaves out according to the model that I've been building
    Do AI systems have subjective experiences or the potential for consciousness?
    No, current AI systems do not have subjective experiences. However, they have the potential to simulate them so perfectly that the line becomes incredibly blurry.
    Here is the easiest way to understand what Geoffrey Hinton is saying, where he is right, and what he is missing in my opinion:
    • What Hinton gets right: When you look at an object, your brain isn't taking a literal photograph. It is taking raw data and building a "mental simulation" (like his example of imagining a pink elephant). Because advanced AI does the exact same thing—taking data and building highly complex internal interpretations—Hinton argues that AI and humans process experiences in the same fundamental way.
    • What the AI is missing: Human experience isn't just about processing data; it is deeply tied to being alive. We feel things because we are biological organisms constantly trying to survive, manage energy, and deal with physical stress, pain, and comfort. An AI does not have a body, it does not feel, for example the physical relief of tension dissolving, and it does not face actual, existential vulnerability.
    • The Verdict: Current AI is like a brilliant actor reading a script. It can describe an experience perfectly, but it doesn't actually feel the weight of the words. For an AI to truly become conscious, it would need more than just better code; it would need a way to experience its own existence, vulnerability, and relationship with the physical world, rather than just calculating the next logical answer.

    Best Wishes

    Phased

  • in reply to Phased

    That’s the opinion of AI, according to GPTZero.

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