Google VP Blaise Aguera y Arcas urges rethinking AI consciousness
Blaise Aguera y Arcas, Google's vice-president of technology and society and leader of the company's Paradigms of Intelligence team, thinks it's time to rethink how we talk about AI consciousness.
Instead of obsessing over whether AI is truly "conscious," he suggests we look at why humans sometimes feel like AIs are alive (hint: it's more about our own empathy and relationships than what the AI actually is).
Claude Opus 4.6 self-rated 15%-20% conscious
Aguera y Arcas points out that advanced AIs (like chatbots) can seem self-aware, but that feeling comes from us, not them.
He used Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.6 as an example: it rated itself 15% to 20% conscious!
This raises big questions about AI ethics and welfare.
He says it's time to reconsider whether intelligence and moral consideration must be limited to familiar forms of mind.