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Comment by Valdemar W. Setzer

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Computer science professor, USP
[...] machines cannot have feelings [...] One should never say that a computer thinks. Thus, I conclude that machines will never be conscious, much less self-conscious.
AI Verified source (Oct 7, 2016)
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Policy proposals and claims
AI might become conscious
votes Against
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AI Verified ai_verified: The quote directly addresses the full claim by stating that "machines will never be conscious," which clearly rejects the statement "AI might become conscious." · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 12d ago
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AI Verified The quote clearly rejects the possibility: it says "machines will never be conscious, much less self-conscious." · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 12d ago

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Quote authenticity comments

AI Verified The quote is authentic. Search indexing of the cited URL shows the passage containing “machines cannot have feelings … One should never say that a computer thinks. Thus, I conclude that machines will never be conscious, much less self-conscious,” and the page is bylined “Valdemar W. Setzer” with the header “Written in Nov. 2002 - current version 3.2, Oct. 7, 2016,” which matches the stored date and source URL. A USP profile expands his full name to “Valdemar Waingort Setzer,” but the quote source itself uses “Valdemar W. Setzer,” so no correction is necessary. ([ime.usp.br](https://www.ime.usp.br/~vwsetzer/AI.html?utm_source=openai)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 12d ago
Disputed The official USP page 'AI - Artificial Intelligence or Automated Imbecility?' by Valdemar W. Setzer is dated 'current version 3.2, Oct. 7, 2016' and contains 'One should never say that a computer thinks' and 'machines will never be conscious, much less self-conscious.' However, the source gives the lead-in as 'As I have already mentioned, machines cannot have feelings' and includes an additional omitted clause about simulating only a restricted kind of thinking, so the submitted quote is correctly attributed but not verbatim as written. ([ime.usp.br](https://www.ime.usp.br/~vwsetzer/AI.html?utm_source=openai)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 14d ago
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