Agnosticism about artificial consciousness

Could an AI have conscious experiences? Answers to this question should be based not on intuition, dogma or speculation but on solid scientific evidence. However, I argue such evidence is hard to come by and that the only justifiable stance is agnosticism. The main division in the contemporary literature is between biological views that are sceptical of artificial consciousness and functional views that are sympathetic to it. I show that both camps make the same mistake of overstating what the available evidence tells us. I then consider what agnosticism means for the ethical problems surrounding the creation of artificial consciousness.

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Publication Details

Journal
Mind & Language
Published
2025-12-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/mila.70010
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Embodied and Extended Cognition
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.43
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article

Agnosticism about artificial consciousness

1 citations
Mind & Language
Embodied and Extended Cognition
1.43
article

Agnosticism about artificial consciousness

article en
1 citations

Abstract

Could an AI have conscious experiences? Answers to this question should be based not on intuition, dogma or speculation but on solid scientific evidence. However, I argue such evidence is hard to come by and that the only justifiable stance is agnosticism. The main division in the contemporary literature is between biological views that are sceptical of artificial consciousness and functional views that are sympathetic to it. I show that both camps make the same mistake of overstating what the available evidence tells us. I then consider what agnosticism means for the ethical problems surrounding the creation of artificial consciousness.

Mind & Language
University of Cambridge (GB)
Reduced inequalities
Openalex Percentile: Top 13%
Embodied and Extended Cognition
1.43
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Agnosticism about artificial consciousness · Mind & Language (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS