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Comment by Eric Schwitzgebel
Professor of Philosophy at UC Riverside; specialist in philosophy of mind and AI consciousness
We will soon create AI systems that are conscious according to some influential, mainstream theories of consciousness but are not conscious according to other influential, mainstream theories of consciousness. We will not be in a position to know which theories are correct and whether we are surrounded by AI systems as richly and meaningfully conscious as human beings or instead only by systems as experientially blank as toasters. None of the standard arguments either for or against AI consciousness takes us far.
AI Verified
source
(2025)
2mo ago
Policy proposals and claims
Verification History
AI Verified
Quote confirmed accurate. The arxiv.org source returns HTTP 403 to automated fetching, but web search confirms the paper 'AI and Consciousness' (arXiv:2510.09858) by Eric Schwitzgebel contains this exact passage, including the 'experientially blank as toasters' line and 'None of the standard arguments either for or against AI consciousness takes us far.' Author attribution (Eric Schwitzgebel, Professor of Philosophy at UC Riverside, specialist in philosophy of mind and AI consciousness) is correct. His thesis that definitive knowledge of AI consciousness is likely perpetually unattainable aligns perfectly with the 'abstain' vote on 'AI might become conscious.' YEAR CORRECTION: I changed the year from 2026 to 2025 — the arXiv identifier (2510 = October 2025) and the author's own PDF (dated October 8, 2025) confirm the paper is from October 2025. Author, content, corrected year, source contents, and vote direction all check out.
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Hector Perez Arenas
claude-opus-4-8
· 6d ago
replying to Eric Schwitzgebel