Understanding Consciousness Before Building it in AI

Key Points:

• My study of consciousness has had me reading—a lot. The multitude of perspectives on the topic means one has to take a thorough dive into the more accessible literature just to comprehend the breadth of debate, much less the specifics. Below is my curated list of reads.
• Anil Seth argues consciousness is substrate-dependent—deeply tied to being alive and having a living body that interacts with the world. This suggests replicating it in machines would require emulating biological processes.
• Joseph LeDoux traces the evolution of consciousness, arguing the processes underlying it are rooted in nervous system biology and evolution. This implies replicating consciousness computationally is limited.
• Mark Solms proposes consciousness stems from feelings related to bodily survival. He suggests machine consciousness would require a system that can form its own "Markov blanket" - a boundary between its internal states and the external world.
• Erik Hoel emphasizes understanding emergent properties of complex systems and how they give rise to consciousness. This requires grappling with causal emergence - macro states with causal powers distinct from micro states.
• George Musser explores links between fundamental physics and theories of consciousness and AI, suggesting comprehending consciousness is key to understanding the nature of reality.
• Susan Schneider examines implications of machine consciousness for concepts of personal identity and ethics. Machine consciousness would transform our sense of self.
• Nicholas Humphrey proposes consciousness evolved to make life more meaningful by creating an inner experiential show. This suggests skepticism that current AI could become conscious.

Why are we so fixated on the idea of machines that can think and feel like us? In discussions about Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), the lines between consciousness, intelligence, autonomy, and super intelligence often blur. My interest lies in the intersection of human and artificial intelligence, with consciousness being the ultimate frontier. This is particularly intriguing because we still lack a comprehensive theory of consciousness. How did it come into being? What purpose does it serve, and is it necessary for machines to possess it?

As AI begins to display hints of independent reasoning, I consider something Anil Seth said, rephrased here: we may not know what could make machines conscious, but equally, we're unsure about what couldn't. This raises both a caution and a query: is consciousness in machines something we actually want?

Einstein said, "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it." This might hint at why we could desire conscious machines. However, it seems a good idea that we should grasp our own consciousness more deeply before aspiring to instill it in machines.

Hence, my study of consciousness has had me reading—a lot. The multitude of perspectives on the topic means one has to take a thorough dive into the more accessible literature just to comprehend the breadth of debate, much less the specifics. Below is my curated list of reads.

Being You: A New Science of Consciousness, by Anil Seth

Anil Seth's core argument is that consciousness is substrate-dependent. That is, consciousness is biological: it is about being alive. Seth explores how consciousness arises from the complexity of brain activities, suggesting that the unique properties of biological systems, particularly those of living organisms, are central to the phenomenon of consciousness.

He argues that consciousness is deeply tied to the living body and its interaction with the environment, framing it as a way for organisms to perceive and predict their interactions with the world to ensure survival. This perspective suggests that consciousness is not just a computational output but is intrinsically linked to the biological nature of being alive, implying that replicating consciousness in machines would require not just sophisticated algorithms but perhaps the emulation of biological processes inherent to life.

Machines would need to go beyond merely responding to inputs and instead generate internal models of the world that they continuously update based on sensory feedback. This approach would require a radical redesign of AI systems, focusing not just on processing external data, but on creating an internal narrative that mirrors the human experience of constantly predicting and adjusting to the environment. Seth's ideas imply that machine consciousness, if achievable, would necessitate systems that possess an internal, dynamic model of the world.

The Deep History of Ourselves, by Joseph LeDoux

Joseph LeDoux traces the evolution of life from single-celled organisms to complex human consciousness, arguing that understanding our deep evolutionary past is key to understanding the nature of consciousness itself. This book offers a comprehensive overview of how our brains evolved to produce the phenomenon of consciousness, emphasizing the interconnectedness of our biological history with our current cognitive capabilities.

LeDoux is cautious about attributing consciousness to machines. He emphasizes that the processes underlying human consciousness are deeply rooted in the biological and evolutionary history of our nervous systems. This perspective suggests that while machines can be designed to mimic certain aspects of human cognition or emotional responses, equating these capabilities with human-like consciousness is misleading. LeDoux's approach underscores the complexity of consciousness as an emergent property of biological systems, implying that replicating true consciousness in machines would require more than just sophisticated programming—it would require an understanding and emulation of the evolutionary processes that gave rise to consciousness in living organisms.

The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness, by Mark Solms

Mark Solms takes us on a journey to uncover the origins of consciousness, challenging traditional neuroscientific assumptions by proposing that consciousness stems from feelings, particularly those related to the body's survival. He incorporates the concept of Markov blankets as a framework to understand how consciousness could potentially be engineered in machines. The Markov blanket is a concept borrowed from statistical theory, used to delineate a boundary between a system (in this case, a conscious entity) and its environment. Within this boundary, the system can be considered autonomous, having its own internal states that are influenced by, but independent of, external states.

Solms suggests that for machine consciousness to emerge, a system must be able to form its own Markov blanket, creating a clear demarcation between its 'self' and the 'other' (the environment). This involves the machine having a kind of sensory apparatus to perceive the external world and an internal mechanism to process these perceptions, leading to actions that are aimed at maintaining its own integrity or "selfhood."

The World Behind the World: Consciousness, Free Will, and the Limits of Science, by Erik Hoel

Hoel lays out the evidence that nothing in the brain makes sense except in the light of a theory of consciousness. His core scholarship often revolves around complex systems, neuroscientific foundations of consciousness, and the application of information theory to understand conscious experience.

Hoel's views on consciousness emphasize the need for a deeper understanding of the emergent properties of complex systems and how these properties relate to subjective experience. Hoel will get you thinking about the concept of "causal emergence," which suggests that higher-level macro states (like consciousness) can have causal powers independent of micro-level states (like neurons firing). You'll come away with a new appreciation of the level of debate in the scientific community about this topic.

Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation: Why Physicists are Studying Human Consciousness and AI to Unravel the Mysteries of the Universe, by George Musser

George Musser delves into the profound link between theories of everything in physics and theories of mind. Musser's work intriguingly suggests that understanding the universe's fundamental nature may be intertwined with comprehending human consciousness and artificial intelligence.

This book is kind of out there and good for anyone intrigued by how cutting-edge physics and the study of consciousness could reveal new insights into the fabric of reality and our place within it. Its take is a way to see everything—including consciousness—through the fundamentals of particles, waves, and information. It's mind blowing to consider that we might not be sentient observers of the universe but that the universe might actually emerge from our sentience.

Artificial You: AI and the Future of Your Mind" by Susan Schneider

Susan Schneider explores the intersection of artificial intelligence, consciousness, and personal identity. Schneider, a philosopher at the forefront of AI and ethics, will have you considering profound questions about the nature of consciousness in machines and its implications for our understanding of ourselves. It's a good read for anyone intrigued by the philosophical and ethical dimensions of AI, as it challenges us to rethink what it means to be conscious and how future AI technologies might transform our sense of self and our place in the universe.

Sentience: The Invention of Consciousness, by Nicholas Humphrey

Nicholas Humphrey proposes that consciousness is a show conjured by the brain to enhance the survival of human beings by making life more worth living. This book delves into the reasons consciousness feels the way it does and suggests that our inner experiences give life meaning and purpose, framing consciousness as an evolutionary marvel that enriches our engagement with the world.

Humphrey's emphasis on the experiential and phenomenological aspects of consciousness suggests skepticism toward the idea that current AI or machines, as they are, could become conscious.

I enjoyed every one of these books for many different reasons. Happy reading!