What is consciousness, and could machines have it?
Université Paris-Sud · Inserm · +9 more institutions
Abstract
The controversial question of whether machines may ever be conscious must be based on a careful consideration of how consciousness arises in the only physical system that undoubtedly possesses it: the human brain. We suggest that the word "consciousness" conflates two different types of information-processing computations in the brain: the selection of information for global broadcasting, thus making it flexibly available for computation and report (C1, consciousness in the first sense), and the self-monitoring of those computations, leading to a subjective sense of certainty or error (C2, consciousness in the second sense). We argue that despite their recent successes, current machines are still mostly…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 37.49
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 96
Authors
3- SDStanislas DehaeneCorresponding
Université Paris-Sud, Inserm, Collège de France, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Paris-Saclay
- HLHakwan Lau
University of California, Los Angeles, University of Hong Kong
- SKSid Kouider
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, École Normale Supérieure - PSL, École Normale Supérieure
Topics & keywords
- Consciousness
- Unconscious mind
- Certainty
- Computation
- Computer science
- Cognitive science
- Neural correlates of consciousness
- Information processing
Funding
- CICanadian Institute for Advanced ResearchAward: award348203
- ANAgence Nationale de la RechercheAwards: award348206, ANR-10-LABX-0087 and ANR-10-IDEX-0001-02
- INInstitut National de la Santé et de la Recherche MédicaleAward: award348200
- CÀCommissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies AlternativesAward: award348201
- EREuropean Research CouncilAwards: award348204, award348205
- NINational Institute of Neurological Disorders and StrokeAwards: award348207, R01NS088628
- AFAir Force Office of Scientific ResearchAwards: award348208, FA9550-15-1-0110