A new study published by researchers at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) has revealed that even when artificial intelligence systems can provide responses very similar to those of humans, they are not viewed by society as being "conscious."
The research, featured in the journal Cognition, is based on experiments conducted with more than 1,100 participants. Participants were presented with scenarios involving AI systems that react to surrounding sounds, recognize emotions, and make decisions, as well as human characters exhibiting the same behaviors.
According to the results, although participants accepted that an advanced AI model could perceive data from its environment and generate responses, they did not evaluate this on the same level as human consciousness. Even the most responsive AI scenarios lagged behind the most passive human characters in terms of attributed consciousness.
THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN AWARENESS AND CONSCIOUSNESS
The key distinction highlighted in the study was drawn between the concepts of "awareness" and "consciousness." While participants were more open to the idea that AI could perceive its environment, they remained reluctant to attribute the concept of consciousness—which implies subjective experience, emotion, and an internal mental life—to artificial intelligence.
The study's lead author, Dr. Louis Longin, stated that despite narratives that humanize AI, people draw a distinct line, noting, "People acknowledge that AI is aware of its surroundings, but they draw a clear line when it comes to 'consciousness.' Even if it exhibits the exact same behavior, they keep AI below humans."
The researchers warned that language used by technology companies and the media that attributes human traits such as "intent," "conscience," "hesitation," or "planning" to AI can be misleading. According to the experts, more neutral and technical definitions should be preferred over concepts like "consciousness" when promoting AI systems.
News Source: 12punto
