Locks vs supernovae: the debate over whether LLMs are anywhere near consciousness
JoshPurtell · x · 2026-10-04
A debate on machine consciousness: Josh Purtell argues that while almost everyone agrees a lock and key isn't conscious, a non-zero number of people find it plausible that the sun or supernovae are — and since we don't know how big an analogue brain would be, LLMs may be closer to supernovae, making functionalism unsafe. The reply pushes back: LLMs are way closer to lock and key.
Related event: Is an LLM Just a Book? AI Circle Debates Machine Consciousness(9 posts)→
More from AGI Musings
- Pedro Domingos: imminent-AGI arguments rest on dumb linear extrapolation — pmddomingos · 2026-10-04
- Dev Tells AI-Consciousness Believers to Lose Model Weights Access and 'Touch Grass' — inductionheads · 2026-10-04
- Pedro Domingos mocks 'labs already have AGI internally' claim: OpenAI said that in 2023 — pmddomingos · 2026-10-04
- 'Getting there first' won't save AI safety: a nuclear proliferation analogy goes viral — ryanorban · 2026-10-04
- Students cheated with LLMs on a zero-stakes oral exam, professor says — ipeirotis · 2026-10-04
- A simulation of a brain gives you a simulation, not consciousness, philosopher argues — dr1337 · 2026-10-04