No, LLMs Can't Suffer: Researcher Pushes Back on the Consciousness Wave
ValerioCapraro · x · 2026-11-11
Behavioral scientist Valerio Capraro's long-form piece in Corriere della Sera responds to recent frantic LLM consciousness research: Anthropic's emotions paper, the J-space, and a study finding a 'pain vector' in LLMs — when activated, some models chose pain-relieving options even if that meant deleting photos of users' children. He concedes these findings matter for AI safety but argues representing pain isn't suffering.
Key arguments:
- Biological neurons are alive: each consumes energy, renews components, and maintains membranes to survive before transmitting signals. Artificial neurons are mathematical abstractions with no body — not alive.
- Belief in LLM consciousness stems from anthropomorphism plus what he calls 'LLMorphism': interpreting the human mind as if it worked like a language model.
- Real-world effects are here: Anthropic bans extreme repeated model abuse from November 12. But user stupidity and software suffering are separate; we shouldn't invent the latter.
- Moral arithmetic risk: give each LLM tiny moral weight, sum without limit, and enough machines outweigh one human — implying a duty to sacrifice people for them.
- Conclusion: don't aim to build conscious machines; we need tools that reduce suffering, not new beings that might suffer.
Related event: Scientist Pushes Back on Claims That LLMs Can Feel Pain(2 posts)→
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