"AI is software, not conscious": Sans vs Ospina debate machine consciousness
gerardsans · x · 2026-10-06
Tech evangelist Gerard Sans doubled down in a debate with Daniel Ospina: AI is software — no self, no body, no lived experience — "text in, text out," so talk of consciousness reflects a lack of technical understanding. He said he's open to theories of AI consciousness, but without evidential support they waste everyone's time; the technology has to exist first. Ospina countered that it "depends on the definition."
Related event: Gerard Sans Sparks Debate: Is AI Just Software or a Conscious Entity?(5 posts)→
More from AGI Musings
- AI will democratize bioweapon competence, warn biosecurity expert urging far-UV and PPE stockpiles — connoraxiotes · 2026-10-06
- Shrimp Welfare co-founder pushes back on The Economist's portrayal of Effective Altruism — AaronBergman18 · 2026-10-06
- Economist: since GPT-5, labeling disagreements are almost always the LLM being right — soumitrashukla9 · 2026-10-06
- Replit CEO: AI doomerism misses the real question — who's accountable when agents go rogue — amasad · 2026-10-06
- MIT sociologist Sherry Turkle: kids' AI attachment may harm more than social media — anilkseth · 2026-10-06
- When AI agents shop and browse for you, who sees the ads? — NickPassig · 2026-10-06