#61 - Yampolskiy on Machine Consciousness and AI Welfare

In this episode I talk to Roman Yampolskiy. Roman is a Tenured Associate Professor in the department of Computer Engineering and Computer Science at the Speed School of Engineering, University of Louisville. He is the founding and current director of the Cyber Security Lab and an author of many books and papers on AI security and ethics, including Artificial Superintelligence: a Futuristic Approach. We talk about how you might test for machine consciousness and the first steps towards a science of AI welfare. You can listen below or download here. You can also subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Stitcher and a variety of other podcasting services (the RSS feed is here). Show Notes 0:00 - Introduction 2:30 - Artificial minds versus Artificial Intelligence 6:35 - Why talk about machine consciousness now when it seems far-fetched? 8:55 - What is phenomenal consciousness? 11:04 - Illusions as an insight into phenomenal consciousness 18:22 - How to create an illusion-based test for machine consciousness 23:58 - Challenges with operationalising the test 31:42 - Does AI already have a minimal form of consciousness? 34:08 - Objections to the proposed test and next steps 37:12 - Towards a science of AI welfare 40:30 - How do we currently test for animal and human welfare 44:10 - Dealing with the problem of deception 47:00 - How could we test for welfare in AI? 52:39 - If an AI can suffer, do we have a duty not to create it? 56:48 - Do people take these ideas seriously in computer science? 58:08 - What next? Relevant Links Roman's homepage 'Detecting Qualia in Natural and Artificial Agents' by Roman 'Towards AI Welfare Science and Policies' by Soenke Ziesche and Roman Yampolskiy The Hard Problem of Consciousness 25 famous optical illusions Could AI get depressed and have hallucinations? #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */ Subscribe to the newsletter