"It's just vectors and multiplication": X users spar over whether understanding mechanisms rules out consciousness
cephaloform · x · 2026-09-21
A viral exchange on consciousness: jon3k argued that truly understanding how an LLM works — "just a bunch of vectors and multiplication" — makes it impossible to believe it's conscious. FKRIcarus flipped the argument onto humans: once you grasp the nervous system, human consciousness looks like "just sodium-potassium ion exchanges and diffusing neurotransmitters." Together the posts expose the self-contradiction in the "explainable mechanism ⇒ no consciousness" argument, reigniting the AI consciousness debate.
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