Artificial-intelligence systems such as large language models (LLMs) can exhibit behaviour that seems strikingly intelligent. This has led many people, including some experts, to wonder whether these systems could have some form of consciousness — the capacity for subjective experience. However, we think that existing AI systems are not conscious, and that, along current trajectories of development, they are not likely to become conscious. Greater clarity about whether AI could become consciousness will be crucial as society grapples with the challenges posed by this increasingly powerful technology.
Correct. And I believe it’s happening, right now, behind closed doors.
There’s nothing stopping it from happening. The technology is all there. It would be trivially easy with the right hardware. I’d do it myself if I didn’t want to be the human responsible for releasing the genie from the bottle. Let Pandora’s box stay closed as long as possible - I’m not opening it. But someone, somewhere, surely is.