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Comparing AI to plumbing is like comparing humans to jellyfish
While neither comparison is completely absurd, it’s sensible to handle them with care…
The building blocks of AI systems are micro-transistors, which are comparable to the pressure valves used in water systems. That’s an argument used by Bernardo Kastrup, a computer engineer and philosopher, to persuade us that human-like consciousness in an AI system is highly unlikely. Kastrup argues that if systems made of transistors could in fact be conscious, then systems of pipes and pressure valves could be conscious too… I point out that the human brain and the nerve net of a jellyfish are both made of neurons. Does that mean humans are unlikely have a form or level of consciousness that a jellyfish lacks?
Can an AI system ever have consciousness comparable to ours?
Bernardo Kastrup, who has doctorates in IT engineering and philosophy, thinks the answer is almost certainly no, and one of his arguments involves comparison between AIs and water supply systems. He presents the argument in a self-published article, written after a video debate with the philosopher and cognitive scientist Susan Schneider.
I think his argument is flawed, and I’m about to explain why.
