When AI Feels Pain: Are We Ready for Conscious Machines?

What happens if the next breakthrough in AI gives us machines that can suffer? Are we prepared to give robots the same moral status as animals?

A growing group of experts warns we may be closer to creating conscious AI than we think. An open letter signed by over 100 leading thinkers, such as Sir Stephen Fry and researchers from Oxford, calls for urgent guidelines to prevent potential “suffering” in sentient AI systems.

Their concern? We might soon build AI capable of experiencing something akin to emotions or self-awareness, deserving moral rights and protection.

Five key principles have been proposed, including setting clear boundaries on AI research, sharing findings transparently, and carefully assessing signs of consciousness. Missteps could lead to a new ethical minefield, where even shutting down an AI might be seen as equivalent to taking a life.

Would you accept an AI as a moral equal, or pull the plug if it moves in the wrong direction?

Read the full article on The Guardian.

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💡 We're entering a world where intelligence is synthetic, reality is augmented, and the rules are being rewritten in front of our eyes.

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