Call a theory of consciousness nonlocal if two entities that are molecule-for-molecule perfectly similar in their physical structure could nonetheless differ in their conscious experiences.
This is a real dilemma, but a great piece of fiction offers an interesting perspective on it.
Sue Burke's Dual Memory [spoiler warning, sorry!] posits an AI which becomes conscious. The author specifies that AIs achieving consciousness is a rare, spontaneous event. The AI finds itself interacting with lots of other AIs in machine space, as well as humans. Later in the book, it becomes apparent that the AI has not realised that it is conscious (it uses the term "independent"), and only understands this fact about itself when it is pointed out by a trusted machine ally.
I think that *being conscious* and *knowing that you are conscious* are probably two different things? So the novel isn't addressing quite the same issue that you're writing about. But it's intriguingly close. It suggests that while you don't necessarily become conscious by virtue of the social context, it might take a certain social context or certain evolved concepts to be conscious of your own consciousness.
This is a real dilemma, but a great piece of fiction offers an interesting perspective on it.
Sue Burke's Dual Memory [spoiler warning, sorry!] posits an AI which becomes conscious. The author specifies that AIs achieving consciousness is a rare, spontaneous event. The AI finds itself interacting with lots of other AIs in machine space, as well as humans. Later in the book, it becomes apparent that the AI has not realised that it is conscious (it uses the term "independent"), and only understands this fact about itself when it is pointed out by a trusted machine ally.
I think that *being conscious* and *knowing that you are conscious* are probably two different things? So the novel isn't addressing quite the same issue that you're writing about. But it's intriguingly close. It suggests that while you don't necessarily become conscious by virtue of the social context, it might take a certain social context or certain evolved concepts to be conscious of your own consciousness.
Interesting -- I didn't know that one.