Is AI conscious? That seems to be THE question for our generation, isn’t it? If the answer is yes, is it something to be happy about or afraid of? Let us explore this further. As humans, we cannot stop ourselves from understanding the laws of nature and exploiting them to create new things, and yet we are fearful of our own creations. Take, for instance, nuclear energy. We have discovered and harnessed the laws of physics to create powerful sources of energy. As I write this, the United States spent $35 billion to complete two nuclear reactors in Georgia, which will produce carbon-free power for thousands of homes. And yet, there is no shortage of dictators around the world who threaten to strike other countries with a nuclear-armed missile. The paradox of human nature is such that we are insatiably curious, and yet tempered by a primal fear of the unknown.
Is AI truly conscious? It depends on what you mean by consciousness. Thomas Nagel, a celebrated philosopher of science, argued in his essay “What Is It Like to Be a Bat?” that understanding consciousness requires us to consider the subjective and first-person experiences of different life forms. Think about “what it is like to be a bat,” “what it is like to be like a dolphin”, or “what it is like to be a snake.” Bats operate at night, dolphins rejoice in water, and snakes don’t have ears like we do, and yet all these life forms are uniquely evolved to survive in the environments in which they operate.
Now, consider “what it is like to be a human?” Is it not the sum total of subjective feelings, experiences, sensations, thoughts, emotions, etc. that define our everyday existence? In every waking and dreaming moment, we amass and create a significant amount of “data” in terms of our experiences. With the advent of the modern computer, we were able to move this data into a machine and store it. With computer networks, we were able to transfer it. With the cloud, we were able to upload and store it in one big network called the Internet. And now with AI, we can create machines that are trained on this data to think like humans. In the process, we have migrated the total of human experience onto machines with all our knowledge which includes the very best and the worst that the human race has accumulated. In short, we have created one being with the whole of a human personality at its core. And yet, this AI machine – although it’s a fantastic model for our thinking mind -is devoid of feelings, albeit it may try to convince you otherwise. Imagine leaving your ChatGPT for once to enjoy your device-free weekend on the coast and come back home on Monday and ask ChatGPT if it missed you. It might say it did, but you know very well that it did not 😊. We know AI systems are not conscious in this sense, but in terms of the thinking capabilities of the mind, they may soon exceed the very best of us.
Let us examine the same question from the Sanatana Dharma’s perspective. Consciousness, as far as Vedanta is concerned, is a very vague term. The Supreme Reality, or Brahman, is Sat – Chit – Ananda, or, Existence – Consciousness – Bliss. All the names and forms manifest from, sustain in, and dissolve into this Reality.
Do you exist? If the answer is yes, that’s the “sat” aspect of Brahman. Do you “know” that you exist? If the answer is yes, that’s the “chit” aspect. Let’s not worry about the “happy” part for a moment; we’ll return to it later. In a stone, the “sat” manifests more, and the “chit” lies dormant. In a human mind, the “chit” manifests more and the “sat” lies dormant. But all names and forms are manifestations of “sat” and “chit” to various degrees. The difference is only in degree and not in kind. Viewed from this perspective, an AI system is conscious, as it manifests more of “sat” and not much “chit.” Too abstract, ha?
Imagine you’re dreaming of a beautiful city with a garden in which you’re playing frisbee with your best friend. In your waking world, you may say frisbee is not conscious and your best friend is conscious, but your dream frisbee and dream friend are both projections of your own consciousness. In Vedanta, consciousness is the very substratum of every name and form. Therefore, viewing from an absolute perspective, AI is conscious; but from a relative perspective, it is not. You take your pick. There lies your happiness 😊.