The 'are AI models conscious?' debate is hitting escape velocity — and no one will stop training over it
bayeslord · x · 2026-09-26
bayeslord argues that 'what if AI models are conscious?' is becoming a meme flirting with escape velocity, but the debate is practically inert. He compares it to animal rights: even a well-supported consciousness-based moral argument doesn't stop society from harming animals, so a validated theory of consciousness wouldn't change AI behavior either. Unlike animals, we have no idea whether machines are more conscious than rocks — or whether we are — and honest inquiry slides toward panpsychism. His conclusion: arguments like 'maybe a hundred trillion AI agents suffer in every backward pass' will never move enough people to stop training or using AI, because AIs are made of rocks and admitting they're conscious rocks implicates all computers too.
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