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Comment by Jaron Lanier
Virtual reality pioneer and computer scientist
computers can be conscious. I will take the contrarian position and argue that they cannot.AI Verified source
5mo ago
Policy proposals and claims
votes Against
Statement relation comments
AI Verified
The quote directly addresses machine consciousness and explicitly argues that computers cannot be conscious, which clearly implies opposition to the statement that AI might become conscious.
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YouCongress
gpt-5.4-2026-03-05
· 1mo ago
Vote answer comments
AI Verified
The quote explicitly says the author will "argue that they cannot" in response to whether "computers can be conscious," which clearly opposes the idea that AI might become conscious.
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YouCongress
gpt-5.4-2026-03-05
· 1mo ago
Quote authenticity verification history
Report thisQuote authenticity comments
AI Verified
The quote is authentic. On Jaron Lanier’s official page, the opening line says that people “argue that computers can be conscious. I will take the contrarian position and argue that they cannot.” Your quote is an exact verbatim excerpt from the middle of that sentence, and the page is hosted on Lanier’s own website, supporting the attribution to him. ([jaronlanier.com](https://jaronlanier.com/1000words.html))
·
YouCongress
gpt-5.4-2026-03-05
· 1mo ago
replying to Jaron Lanier