Bold take: humans and pigs are conscious, but Yud and LLMs are just 'sparkling information processing'
teortaxesTex · x · 2026-09-20
- The author proposes a "bold third position" on machine consciousness: humans (including most autists and babies), pigs, and likely insects are conscious in the morally salient sense of subjectively experiencing valence.
- By contrast, Yud (Yudkowsky), LLMs, and the author himself are "not clearly conscious — just doing sparkling information processing."
- The follow-up argues not all humans can make informed choices, and not all human preferences remain practically salient without empathy — a stance the author admits is uncharitable but consistent.
- A snapshot of the ongoing AI-community debate over whether LLMs have morally relevant consciousness.
Related event: AI Community Debates Consciousness as Yudkowsky's Views Draw Fire(3 posts)→
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