Illusion and Consciousness: Disentangling HumanExistence from Artificial Intelligence

This paper explores the enduring conceptual confusion between illusion and consciousness in debates on artificial intelligence (AI) and human cognition.It argues that equating AI with human consciousness constitutes both a category error and a profound epistemic error.Through philosophical analysis, logical analogies, and ethical reflection, the paper distinguishes the divine mystery of human creation from the mechanical nature of AI.It is structured into four sections: (1) the sources of conceptual distortion, (2) the futility of misplaced comparisons, (3) the ethical and research responsibilities of scholars, and (4) the contrast between human existence and AI mechanisms.The conclusion emphasizes that AI is a human artifact-powerful but limited-while human consciousness remains irreducible, uniquely tied to existential and metaphysical questions that no computational system can resolve.This paper contributes by clarifying the categorical distinction between computational artifacts and human consciousness, offering a framework that resists both metaphysical exaggeration and reductionist misinterpretation.