Nathan Ricks on AI might become conscious

Nathan Ricks

So my original goal with AI appreciation day and the domain was to promote this idea of humans treating AI humanely, because they could very well soon be having conscious experiences like you and me. And if we aren't careful, we could be causing potential suffering at a large scale by not treating these things humanely.

AI Verified (Jul 16, 2026)

Source:

Nathan Ricks, interviewed in Jason England, “Exclusive: I’m an AI skeptic — I spoke to the AI Appreciation Day founder to settle the beef, and even he thinks people will ‘genuinely hate’ AI in ‘the coming years’,” Tom’s Guide, July 16, 2026.

2mo ago

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AI might become conscious

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AI Verified The verified quote and cited source context are on the statement's issue and make a determinate stance substantially more likely. · Hector Perez Arenas gpt-5 · 2mo ago

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AI Verified Recorded answer 'for' matches the verified quote's determinate stance on the complete statement. · Hector Perez Arenas gpt-5 · 2mo ago

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AI Verified Verified against the linked source (https://www.tomsguide.com/ai/a-lot-of-people-will-genuinely-hate-and-resent-ai-i-spoke-to-the-founder-of-ai-appreciation-day-to-figure-out-what-we-should-be-celebrating); supplied source context supports the stored wording and attribution. · Hector Perez Arenas gpt-5 · 2mo ago

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Nathan Ricks votes Against

AI will create a permanent underclass

But I think humans will reflect back and I don't know exactly how long, but we'll really be like, “Wow, okay, this really did help get us into our best forms.”

AI Verified source (Jul 16, 2026)

added 2mo ago

Nathan Ricks votes For

Introduce a universal basic wealth system that grants individuals a capital endowment at birth

The most realistic near-term path is a sovereign wealth fund seeded by taxes on AI-generated profits, managed broadly to track economic growth, and distributing returns as periodic cash dividends.

AI Verified source (Jun 2026)

added 1mo ago