Is consciousness an event, not a thing? AI circle debates whether LLMs can ever be conscious
kevinafischer · x · 2026-10-04
joshalbrecht argues LLMs are obviously not conscious, and it's worth being precise about why: mathematically, an LLM is equivalent to a book — f(w, s, t) → o (weights, seed + settings, tokens in, tokens out) is a pure function with no side effects, in the class f(ℕ) → ℕ, hence no persistent state or experience.
kevinafischer counters with a process-based view: perhaps consciousness is not a thing but an event that comes into being for the duration of a process — a direct rebuttal to the pure-function argument.
Related event: AI Researchers Clash Over Whether LLMs Can Be Conscious(12 posts)→
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