alt Hacker NewsI don't think this is the right argument to make here. Until we have a definite empirical way to measure consciousness, there is now way to say with certainty whether LLMs are or not conscious.
That being said, if frontier labs actually believe models will soon have consciousness, it raises some questions about the ethic of their business model which would be using millions of conscious entities working for free for humans.
Replies
GPerson • yesterday at 11:46 PM
There’s no reason to expect an empirical test for consciousness. Expecting one makes assumptions about what it is, and we don’t know what it is. (There’s also no reason to expect there not to be one, but I feel the need to make this remark.)
collingreen • yesterday at 3:07 PM
Rich folks knowingly exploiting somebody for their own profit? Say it ain't so!
The issue is that the answer if LLMs are conscious or not have ramifications for society, even if we can't answer it. Similar to how god existing or not has huge ramifications for how we structure society. And when there is no empirical way to know the answer, it will be a game of story-telling, theological arguments and propaganda.
The danger is that Anthropic has a strong incentive to push their narrative, and that narrative can cause a lot of harm (for example LLM-induced psychosis and changed views on animal welfare).