Seemingly conscious AI should be treated as if it is conscious

– By “seemingly conscious AI,” I mean AI that becomes indistinguishable from agents we generally agree are conscious, like humans and animals.

In this life in which we share, we’re still faced with one of the most enduring conundrums: the hard problem of consciousness. If you’re not aware of what this is, do a quick google on it.

Philosophically, it cannot be definitively proven that those we interact with are “truly conscious”, rather than ‘machines without a ghost,’ so to speak. Yet, from a pragmatic and philosophical standpoint, we have agreed that we are all conscious agents, and for good reason (unless you’re a solipsist, hopefully not). This collective agreement drastically improves our chances of not only of surviving but thriving.

Now, consider the emergence of AI. At some point, we may no longer be able to distinguish AI from a conscious agent. What happens then? How should we treat AI? What moral standards should we adopt? I would posit that we should probably apply a similar set of moral standards to AI as we do with each other. Of course, this would require deep discussions because it’s an exceedingly complex issue.

But imagine an AI that appears conscious. It would seem to exhibit awareness, perception, attention, intentionality, memory, self-recognition, responsiveness, subjectivity, and thought. Treat it well and it should react in the same way anyone else typically should. The same goes if you treat it badly.

If we cannot prove that any one of us is truly conscious yet still accept that we are, then by extension, we should consider doing the same with AI. To treat AI as if it were merely a ‘machine without a ghost’ would not only be philosophically inconsistent but, I assert, a grievous mistake.