ICML Paper: AI Lacks Consciousness, 'Unplugging Paradox' Drains Human Empathy
MacrinePhD · x · 2026-07-06
An ICML 2026 paper by Erik J. Bekkers and Anna Ciaunica introduces the "Unplugging Paradox": should you shut down a pleading AI or save a silent premature baby?
Grounded in "biological idealism," the authors argue that living, autopoietic metabolism is a necessary physical marker of a conscious mind, making AI merely a functional imitation rather than an experiencing subject.
They point out that the real danger isn't instilling a fear of death in AI, but rather diverting our limited human empathy toward "social zombies," ultimately desensitizing us to real life.
Related event: ICML Paper Challenges Claims of AI Consciousness(2 posts)→
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