Fly brain upload reignites debate: is a functional equivalent conscious, and what about LLMs?
teortaxesTex · x · 2026-09-07
The upload of a full fly brain simulation — by construction a functional equivalent of the fly's brain — has reignited debate over computational functionalism and substrate independence. Critics question whether it deserves the same moral weight as a real fly; the quoted post pushes further: if you find the fly simulation unsettling because it might be conscious, how is it any more conscious-like than an LLM, and shouldn't that concern extend to how LLMs are treated?
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