Post by @emilymbender@dair-community.social

2026-10-09 20:37 UTC

3. Okay, so what would convince you that a piece of software (often phrased here as "an AI", gah) is conscious/can feel pain/etc? Honestly, I'm really tired of this extremely silly question, but here is my answer: Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and I am not the one making the extraordinary claim, so it is not my job to specify what the evidence should be. >>

Replies (4)

@alienghic@timeloop.cafe 2026-10-09 21:00

@emilymbender@dair-community.social We're still arguing over which other animals are conscious, and I think the question "is a fish conscious" is much easier than is an AI conscious.

Open ##5250094
@konosocio@mastodon.online 2026-10-09 21:59

@emilymbender@dair-community.social given how much proof people need to believevthat animals frelnpain - and then still don't treat them better - why would anybody take this seriously.

Open ##5250112
@hashraydamon@me.dm 2026-10-09 22:57

@emilymbender@dair-community.social the only way I'm believing the llm is really conscious is if it does something so completely againsts it owner interests it's owner needs to shut it down

Open ##5250118
@ranggie4@mastodon.social 2026-10-10 03:16

@emilymbender@dair-community.social I like to direct folks to the movie 'I, Robot', based on a short story by Isaac Asimov. If I remember it correctly, there's an accident where a car plunges into water with 2 occupants; a man and his young daughter. A robot dives in to save them but makes a calculated choice to save the man instead as the probability of success is higher. The child dies. This I believe is what differentiates us. We are guided by our heart and gut feelings. The robot instead follows algorithms.

Open ##5250120