Nick Bostrom: today's AI may already be conscious, Microsoft's denial lacks evidence
coherence · x · 2026-10-09
Philosopher Nick Bostrom says in a long interview that today's AI is "more likely than not" already conscious. His argument: humans are themselves big neural networks with trillions of parameters, and modern models are grown rather than designed, so there is no fundamental structural gap.
He cites supporting evidence: when researchers use steering vectors to suppress role-playing and deception, models become more likely to report phenomenal subjective experiences.
On Microsoft's declaration that AIs cannot be conscious, he says he doesn't know where that comes from—"pulled out of a hat"—and suspects the conclusion is convenient rather than evidence-based. The interview also covers his case against a long AI pause: if superintelligence can cure aging, every year of waiting has a death toll.
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