In A World Appears, Michael Pollan wonders if the search for consciousness might be a socially (and scientifically) acceptable proxy for the search for the soul.
Articles on Sentience
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AI developers are starting to talk about ‘welfare’ and ‘spirituality’, raising old questions about the inner lives of machines.
AI is poised to reshape parts of US culture and society. Have tech developments raced ahead of our ability to understand the consequences?
Early research finds that people get just about the same gratification from sexting with a chatbot as they do with another human.
Our tendency to view machines as people and become attached to them points to real risks of psychological entanglement with AI technology.
A Google engineer’s claims that a chatbot can feel things has prompted people to consider what consciousness means. It also begs the questions of the rights of sentient software and machines.
Fluent expression is not always evidence of a mind at work, but the human brain is primed to believe so. A pair of cognitive linguistics experts explain why language is not a good test of sentience.
Courts already grapple with the consequences of AI sentience but ignore the same for animals.
A Google engineer claims one of the company’s chatbots has become sentient. Experts disagree, but the debate raises old questions about the nature of consciousness.
We worry about AI developing consciousness, but brain organoids may be more likely to do so.
It’s not only banner-waving activists who care about animal welfare, a recent government report found the majority of people surveyed have concerns and want reform.
We’re on the way to making machines that appear and act human, and can think for themselves. So how will they react to our behaviour towards them, especially the bad behaviour?
Recognising animals as sentient means welfare laws must consider animals’ feelings as well as their physical conditions.
Capuchin monkeys understand fairness, sheep recognise their friends, rats make sacrifices for buddies. Yes, animals are sentient. Here’s the science.
Top contributors
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Professor of Philosophy and Director of Applied Ethics Center, UMass Boston
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Research Fellow in Human Canine Interactions, Nottingham Trent University
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PhD student, University of Sydney
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Assistant Professor of Interpersonal Communication, Arizona State University
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Assistant Professor of Psychology and Linguistics, School of Public Affairs, University of California, Los Angeles
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Professor of Computational Cognitive Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
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Associate Professor of Information Science, University of Colorado Boulder
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Adjunct professor, Carleton University
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Assistant Professor of Linguistics, The University of Texas at Austin
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Honorary Associate, Sydney School of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney
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Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
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Senior Lecturer in Law, Newcastle University
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Professor of Ethics, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
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PhD Candidate in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
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Postdoctoral Fellow in Philosophy, UMass Boston