fMRI mental-imagery probes of locked-in patients undercut 'consciousness is unknowable from outside'
yeastsplainer · x · 2026-10-18
Challenging the received wisdom that consciousness can never be detected from the outside, the post cites locked-in and vegetative-state patients who were identified as conscious via fMRI: researchers asked them to entertain specific mental images (e.g., playing tennis vs. navigating their home) and read their brain activation patterns.
The argument matters for AI consciousness debates: if consciousness can be probed externally, the 'in-principle unknowable' position weakens.