Why AI is unlikely to become conscious | Anil Seth

Consciousness and intelligence are distinct phenomena, and the assumption that AI will become conscious as it grows smarter is a fundamental misunderstanding of human psychology. While AI excels at intelligence—solving complex problems and processing data—it lacks the biological substrate required for subjective experience. The brain is not merely a computer made of meat; consciousness is deeply rooted in the materiality of life, metabolism, and survival, rather than abstract computation. Mistaking sophisticated language models for conscious entities reflects a human tendency to project inner life onto machines, a bias that risks misallocating ethical rights and diminishing the value of human experience. By conflating simulation with reality, society risks being seduced by the "sacrament of the algorithm," ultimately failing to recognize that consciousness remains a unique property of living, breathing organisms.