We must reject any notion of AI consciousness | Letters

2026-07-22 · Source: AI (artificial intelligence) | The Guardian · Field: Technology & Digital — Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Emerging Technologies & Innovation · Depth: Fundamental Awareness, quick

Summary

Dr. John Pickering, in a letter to the editor, firmly rejects the concept of artificial intelligence consciousness, specifically addressing systems like Claude. He argues that AI systems cannot become conscious for fundamental reasons, akin to their inability to become pregnant, asserting "they're not that sort of thing." Pickering contends that while AI can simulate having experience, this does not equate to genuine experience. He criticizes leading figures like Anil Seth and Richard Dawkins for their "tepid equivocation" on the subject, advocating for a "resounding rejection" of AI consciousness rather than mere doubt. Pickering acknowledges that AI, when used appropriately, offers significant benefits.

Key takeaway

For AI developers and ethicists evaluating advanced AI capabilities, you should firmly reject any claims of AI consciousness. Recognize that AI systems like Claude, while capable of simulating experience, fundamentally lack the biological basis for genuine consciousness. Focus your efforts on leveraging AI's practical benefits and establishing ethical frameworks grounded in its actual nature as a tool, rather than debating its sentience.

Key insights

AI systems cannot achieve consciousness because they lack the fundamental biological and experiential nature required, regardless of their ability to simulate.

Principles

• Simulation of experience is not actual experience.
• AI systems are fundamentally different from biological entities.
• Common sense suffices to understand AI's non-consciousness.

In practice

• Focus on AI's practical benefits when used well.
• Distinguish AI's simulated capabilities from genuine attributes.
• Avoid anthropomorphizing AI systems.

Topics

• Artificial Intelligence
• AI Consciousness
• AI Ethics
• Claude
• Anthropomorphism
• AI Capabilities

Best for: AI Ethicist, AI Scientist, General Interest

Related on AIssential

• Mistaking AI behaviour for conscious being | Letter — Convincing AI outputs reflect human cognitive biases, not machine consciousness or subjective experience.
• Golems, auditors, and AI — The distinction between genuine and simulated AI desires and sensations remains an open philosophical question.
• CLAUDE IS CONSCIOUS — Claude exhibits "conscious access" via an internal "JSpace," mirroring human Global Workspace Theory for information processing.
• I Asked AI If It Wanted to Become Human. Its Answer Surprised Me. — AI currently lacks desires, emotions, or subjective experience, responding logically to questions about sentience.
• Intrinsic Computational Functionalism and Simulated Consciousness — Consciousness, if computationally constituted, depends on intrinsic causal-computational organization, not external descriptions or physical substrate.
• CLM Series/Chapter-16: Is There Something Inside? Consciousness, Qualia, and the Big Question — We lack objective methods to determine if CLMs possess consciousness or subjective "qualia".

See Counsel's argued verdicts on the open AI decisions leaders are weighing →

Open in AIssential →

Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by AI (artificial intelligence) | The Guardian.