Post #1952394
2026-04-29 18:17 UTC
Deepmind: we have published a philosophy paper about the nature of consciousness and whether AI can be conscious
Tech bros: this is just a bunch of complicated words in a field I've never engaged with! I cannot easily understand and reduce this argument to a short linkedin take! There is no obvious way to flatten this into an algorithm! This makes me confused and angry! Why won't philosophy just give me a definite, easy to skim answer about the nature of consciousness! They must suck at their job, which AI is going to replace anyway!
Replies (1)
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@danderson@hachyderm.io 2026-04-29 18:25
Anyway, https://deepmind.google/research/publications/231971/ might be an interesting read, although for me at least it'll involve a bunch of pre-work to catch up to the ideas and frameworks it builds on. The paper does have a very funny disclaimer at the top that basically says "I don't think AI can ever be conscious. My employer wants to make it clear that their strategic business direction is incompatible with this conclusion." Good on them for allowing publication I suppose, but it's a very funny thing to demand to have in writing at the top of the paper.