AI fails due to what you pointed out in the first sentence: the goal is consciousness, and they don’t possess it. Sometimes I think our lack of appreciation for the value of consciousness—it is, as Descartes explained, our only ontological primitive—underlies the bulk of our confusion and misunderstanding; over time, we begin to value not lived experience but the measurement of it—not a life well-lived, but a life well-measured (titles, impressive acronyms, Instagrammable moments…). We’re making a similar mistake with AI—valuing it for all the impressive “stuff” it creates, without considerion for how that stuff interplays with consciousness. Undoubtably there are digital heaps of AI slop being created right now that get responded to by other AIs with more slop, all of which not a single consciousness perceives. Does any of it even exist?? …I’ll take “shity” but heartfelt writing any day over an AI Shakespeare that experiences exactly none of the emotions it articulates.
AI will never capture the emotion that we can.
AI fails due to what you pointed out in the first sentence: the goal is consciousness, and they don’t possess it. Sometimes I think our lack of appreciation for the value of consciousness—it is, as Descartes explained, our only ontological primitive—underlies the bulk of our confusion and misunderstanding; over time, we begin to value not lived experience but the measurement of it—not a life well-lived, but a life well-measured (titles, impressive acronyms, Instagrammable moments…). We’re making a similar mistake with AI—valuing it for all the impressive “stuff” it creates, without considerion for how that stuff interplays with consciousness. Undoubtably there are digital heaps of AI slop being created right now that get responded to by other AIs with more slop, all of which not a single consciousness perceives. Does any of it even exist?? …I’ll take “shity” but heartfelt writing any day over an AI Shakespeare that experiences exactly none of the emotions it articulates.
We are likeminded! Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts.