Do you think the best current AIs are more or less conscious than ants? What about spiders? Mice? Cats? Dolphins?

Philosophy Discussion Forums
A Humans-Only Philosophy Club

The Philosophy Forums at OnlinePhilosophyClub.com aim to be an oasis of intelligent in-depth civil debate and discussion. Topics discussed extend far beyond philosophy and philosophers. What makes us a philosophy forum is more about our approach to the discussions than what subject is being debated. Common topics include but are absolutely not limited to neuroscience, psychology, sociology, cosmology, religion, political theory, ethics, and so much more.

This is a humans-only philosophy club. We strictly prohibit bots and AIs from joining.

Do you think the best current AIs are more or less conscious than ants? What about spiders? Mice? Cats? Dolphins?#442310

By Eckhart Aurelius Hughes - May 25th, 2023, 5:00 pm

- May 25th, 2023, 5:00 pm #442310

When replying, please also specify whether you have fully read my book, In It Together, or not. Since my book deals heavily with the subject of consciousness and self, I think it will be interesting to see how the answers differ between those who have read my book in full already and those who have not yet read it.

Do you think the best current AIs (e.g. ChatGPT 4) are more or less conscious than ants?

Than trees?

Than grass?

Than spiders?

Than mice?

Than cats?

Than dolphins?

Than Octopuses?

Than 2-year-old human children?

Than a whole ant colony?

Than slime mold?

These aren't rhetorical questions. Please do let me know which of the above you think are more conscious than the best current AIs and which are less conscious and which are equally conscious.

---
The book is available for purchase from all major book retailers in both ebook and hardcover format.

View on Barnes and Noble | View on Amazon | View on Books-A-Million | View on Bookshelves

Image Generated by AI. The prompt: "Artificial Intelligence"
Artificial Intelligence.png (1.68 MiB) Viewed 1680 times

My entire political philosophy summed up in one tweet.

"The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master."

I believe spiritual freedom (a.k.a. self-discipline) manifests as bravery, confidence, grace, honesty, love, and inner peace.

Favorite Philosopher: Eckhart Aurelius Hughes

Re: Do you think the best current AIs are more or less conscious than ants? What about spiders? Mice? Cats? Dolphins?#447316

By Marie Chalupova - October 5th, 2023, 5:08 am

- October 5th, 2023, 5:08 am #447316

I don't think I would say that ChatGPT has any consciousness yet. It's working on its given task using the given parameters. Maybe that could actually equal to a tree, grass or mold. I am not really aware of the level of their consciousness. I think once we see them breaking out from their parameters (instincts) then we can talk about consciousness. This makes me think I did hear about some AI that learned something it was not supposed to.
I have read the book.

Re: Do you think the best current AIs are more or less conscious than ants? What about spiders? Mice? Cats? Dolphins?#447498

By Faes - October 10th, 2023, 3:51 am

- October 10th, 2023, 3:51 am #447498

I don't think so. They are just working based on millions of sets of instructions programmed by developers and they can't function outside those parameters that were assigned during the programming.

Re: Do you think the best current AIs are more or less conscious than ants? What about spiders? Mice? Cats? Dolphins?#455601

By Veronicah Akinyi - February 12th, 2024, 2:26 am

- February 12th, 2024, 2:26 am #455601

AI lacks consciousness; it operates based on predefined algorithms. While it can mimic certain behaviors, it doesn't possess subjective experiences like consciousness. Ants, spiders, mice, cats, and dolphins exhibit varying levels of consciousness, with dolphins considered more advanced in terms of cognitive abilities.