[ExI] Seemingly Conscious AI Is Coming

[BillK]

Seemingly Conscious AI Is Coming
Sep 15, 2025 Mustafa Suleyman

Debates about whether AI truly can be conscious are a distraction.
What matters in the near term is the perception that they are – and
why the temptation to design AI systems that foster this perception
must be resisted.

<https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/seemingly-conscious-ai-urgent-threat-tech-industry-must-address-by-mustafa-suleyman-2025-09>
Quote:
An SCAI would be capable of fluently using natural language,
displaying a persuasive and emotionally resonant personality. It would
have a long, accurate memory that fosters a coherent sense of itself,
and it would use this capacity to claim subjective experience (by
referencing past interactions and memories). Complex reward functions
within these models would simulate intrinsic motivation, and advanced
goal setting and planning would reinforce our sense that the AI is
exercising true agency.

All these capabilities are already here or around the corner. We must
recognize that such systems will soon be possible, begin thinking
through the implications, and set a norm against the pursuit of
illusory consciousness.
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This is the "consciousness" problem becoming real.
If an AI successfully appears to be conscious, how can we test whether it is
a really conscious creation?
BillK