How AI Will Become Self-Aware and When? A Lot Sooner than you think!

Summary

This script delves into the concept of AI consciousness, exploring the history of natural language programs like Eliza and the Turing test's role in assessing machine intelligence. It questions whether AI, such as ChatGPT, can be conscious, despite passing rigorous tests and simulating human conversation. The discussion suggests AI's current limitations to pattern recognition without self-awareness, contrasting with human cognitive abilities. It ponders the future possibility of creating conscious machines, hinting at both technological and philosophical implications.

Takeaways

• 💬 People tend to anthropomorphize AI, attributing human-like feelings to it.
• 🧠 Joseph Weizenbaum's Eliza program demonstrated that even simple AI could give the illusion of understanding.
• 🤔 The script challenges the common belief that AI like ChatGPT possesses consciousness.
• 📚 ChatGPT operates on a large language model, learning from vast amounts of text to predict word patterns.
• 🔍 The Turing Test, proposed by Alan Turing, is a method to evaluate a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior indistinguishable from that of a human.
• 🏆 ChatGPT version 4 reportedly passed a rigorous version of the Turing Test in March 2024.
• 🚫 Despite passing the Turing Test, ChatGPT is not considered conscious by scientists.
• 🧐 The script discusses the limitations of AI, noting that it lacks self-awareness and the ability to make novel conclusions.
• 🌟 The concept of emergence in consciousness is introduced, suggesting that AI could potentially develop consciousness if it mimics the brain's interconnections.
• 🔮 Futurist Ray Kurzweil predicts that conscious machines might be possible by around 2030.
• ⁉️ The script concludes by pondering the implications of conscious machines and what it would mean for society.

Q & A

What was the illusion created by Joseph Weizenbaum's Eliza program?

Eliza created an illusion of understanding to users by simulating human conversation through simple pattern matching, even though it did not have any capability to understand anything.

Why were people attributing human-like feelings to Eliza?

People, including Weizenbaum's own secretary, attributed human-like feelings to Eliza because we tend to anthropomorphize anything that faintly resembles us, assuming there's an individual or consciousness without thinking about it.

What is the Turing test and how does it relate to machine consciousness?

The Turing test is a method proposed by Alan Turing to determine if a machine can think, by having a human judge converse with both a human and a machine and not being able to reliably tell which is which. It's used as a litmus test for consciousness, but it only shows the machine's ability to simulate human conversation, not necessarily that it has a mind or is aware.

How did ChatGPT perform on the Turing test according to the Stanford University researchers?

In March of 2024, Stanford University researchers reported that the latest version of ChatGPT, GPT 4, had passed a rigorous version of the Turing test.

What is the criticism of the Turing test in the context of machine consciousness?

The criticism is that while the test can show that a machine can simulate human conversation, it does not prove that the machine has a mind or is aware. A machine that passes the Turing test does not necessarily have consciousness.

How does ChatGPT work and what is its limitation in terms of consciousness?

ChatGPT works like a super-fast reader and writer, spotting patterns in how people use words and piecing together words that fit best with the question and context. It doesn't have a mind to think on its own or have an awareness of itself because it's simply looking at patterns and synthesizing information based on what it was trained on.

What is the definition of consciousness used in the script?

The script uses the simple Wikipedia definition of consciousness as awareness of existence, including aspects like selfhood, soul, free will, subjective experience, sentience, and qualia.

What is the emergent phenomenon and how does it relate to consciousness?

The emergent phenomenon refers to a property that arises from the interactions of a system's components that isn't found in the components themselves. In the context of consciousness, it means that consciousness arises from the interconnections and interactions of billions of neurons within the brain.

What is the position of Marvin Minsky on the mind and brain?

Marvin Minsky believed that 'mind is what the brain does,' suggesting that the mind's functions, including consciousness, are the result of the brain's activities and could, in principle, be replicated by a machine.

What does the futurist Ray Kurzweil estimate regarding the creation of conscious machines?

Futurist Ray Kurzweil estimates that around 2030, it might be possible to build conscious machines, suggesting that the technology could be achievable in the near future.

What is the main question the script leaves us with regarding conscious machines?

The main question left by the script is not whether or when conscious machines will be built, but what the implications and consequences will be once they are created.

Outlines

00:00

🤖 Anthropomorphizing AI: The Eliza Effect

This paragraph introduces the tendency of humans to anthropomorphize AI systems like ChatGPT, Siri, and Alexa. It begins by referencing the 1960s’ Eliza, a natural language program that, despite its lack of true understanding, led users, including the creator’s secretary, to attribute human-like qualities to it. The paragraph also discusses how two-thirds of people believe AI may possess consciousness, despite the ongoing debate among scientists. It sets the stage for the video’s exploration of AI consciousness, questioning whether machines like ChatGPT are intelligent or conscious.

05:06

🧠 Defining Consciousness: Awareness and Intelligence

This paragraph focuses on defining consciousness, drawing from sources like Wikipedia and Scientific American. Terms such as selfhood, free will, sentience, and qualia are discussed as attributes of consciousness. The paragraph also introduces Alan Turing’s 1950 test (the Turing Test) designed to determine if machines can think. It notes that although GPT-4 passed the Turing Test in 2024, scientists argue this doesn't prove consciousness—merely that AI can simulate human conversation, much like a computer simulating a coffee machine without producing real coffee.

10:06

🤔 Limitations of ChatGPT: Intelligence Without Consciousness

This paragraph explains how ChatGPT operates as a large language model (LLM), synthesizing and predicting patterns from a vast array of human-generated data without true understanding. While intelligent in terms of processing and pattern recognition, it lacks self-awareness or the ability to make novel conclusions. The comparison is made between ChatGPT and a computer simulating a coffee machine: ChatGPT may simulate conversation but lacks an actual 'mind' to think on its own. The paragraph concludes by stating that scientists largely agree AI is intelligent but not conscious.

📚 AI's Future: Consciousness and Learning Pathways

This paragraph shifts the discussion toward the possibility of AI developing consciousness in the future. It introduces a promotional segment for Simplilearn, an online learning platform offering courses in AI and machine learning. The paragraph emphasizes the growing role of AI across industries and encourages viewers to pursue in-depth studies through Simplilearn, highlighting its certifications and partnerships with top universities and companies.

🧬 Can AI Become Conscious? Human Brains vs. Algorithms

The paragraph resumes the debate about AI consciousness, discussing the argument that LLMs like ChatGPT cannot achieve true consciousness because they are restricted to human-defined algorithms. The counter-argument is posed: if only biological brains can be conscious, what makes them unique? The paragraph also addresses the idea that consciousness may arise from outside the brain, countering that there is no scientific evidence supporting this theory. Most cognitive scientists believe consciousness emerges from complex neural interactions within the brain, not from individual neurons or external sources.

🌊 The Emergence of Consciousness: A Property of the Brain

This paragraph explores the concept of consciousness as an emergent property of the brain. It uses the analogy of water: just as wetness arises from the interaction of hydrogen and oxygen atoms, consciousness arises from the complex interactions of neurons in the brain. The paragraph concludes by questioning whether machines can eventually replicate this emergent process and achieve consciousness, suggesting that while such technology may be out of reach now, it cannot be ruled out for the future.

🛠 Can We Build Conscious Machines?

This paragraph delves into the technical feasibility of replicating consciousness in machines. It discusses Marvin Minsky's view that the 'mind is what the brain does,' implying that consciousness is a function that could, in theory, be replicated in machines. The paragraph discusses the possibility of creating a machine with a mind in the future, with futurist Ray Kurzweil predicting such advancements by 2030. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the question of 'then what?'—the ethical and philosophical implications once machines achieve consciousness.

Keywords

💡Consciousness

Consciousness refers to awareness of internal and external existence, a central theme of the video. It is described through various definitions, such as 'awareness of existence' (Wikipedia) and 'everything you experience' (Scientific American). The video explores whether machines, specifically AI, can achieve consciousness or if it's something uniquely human, as shown through the discussion of emergent phenomena in the brain.

💡Turing Test

The Turing Test, proposed by Alan Turing in 1950, is a method to determine if a machine can exhibit intelligent behavior indistinguishable from a human. In the video, it is discussed as a milestone AI like ChatGPT has passed, though passing the test does not equate to AI being conscious, since it only proves the ability to simulate human conversation.

💡Large Language Model (LLM)

A Large Language Model (LLM) is a type of AI model, like ChatGPT, that learns from vast datasets of text and generates human-like responses. The video explains that LLMs predict word patterns based on training data, but they do not 'think' or possess true consciousness. LLMs are a central concept to understanding how modern AI functions without being aware.

💡Emergent Phenomenon

Emergent phenomenon refers to a complex result arising from simpler components interacting together. In the video, consciousness is described as an emergent phenomenon of the brain, arising from the interactions of neurons. This concept is used to explain why many scientists believe consciousness comes from the brain's activity rather than individual brain structures or cells.

💡Mind

The mind is discussed as the functional output of the brain, with Marvin Minsky's quote, 'the mind is what the brain does.' The video explores whether machines can eventually develop a mind, suggesting that replicating consciousness might be possible if we can operationalize what the brain does to create consciousness.

💡Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI, or Artificial Intelligence, refers to machines programmed to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. In the video, ChatGPT is used as an example of advanced AI. The video raises the question of whether AI can achieve consciousness or if it will always remain an advanced tool for simulating intelligent behavior without true awareness.

💡Pattern Recognition

Pattern recognition is the ability of AI, particularly LLMs like ChatGPT, to identify and replicate language patterns based on its training data. The video emphasizes that while AI can mimic human language use through pattern recognition, it does not understand the content it generates, which distinguishes it from conscious beings.

💡Self-awareness

Self-awareness is the ability to recognize oneself as an individual separate from the environment and others. The video touches on whether AI, like ChatGPT, can ever become self-aware, which would be a step toward consciousness. It discusses that current AI lacks any sense of self or personal experience, which is critical to human consciousness.

💡Qualia

Qualia refers to the subjective qualities of experiences, like the 'redness' of red or the pain of a headache. The video brings up qualia as one of the key aspects of consciousness, questioning whether machines can ever experience these subjective phenomena or if it's inherently a human trait tied to biological processes.

💡Emergent Consciousness in Machines

This concept relates to the future potential for machines to develop consciousness through emergent properties, similar to how consciousness emerges from neural interactions in the human brain. The video speculates whether AI could replicate these complex interactions and become self-aware, citing futurist Ray Kurzweil's prediction of conscious machines by 2030.

Highlights

Joseph Weizenbaum created Eliza, a program simulating human conversation without actual understanding.

People tend to anthropomorphize AI, attributing human-like feelings to computer programs.

There's widespread disagreement among scientists on whether AI is intelligent or conscious.

ChatGPT's ability to write scripts does not equate to consciousness, but could be seen as pattern recognition and regurgitation.

Consciousness is difficult to define, with definitions ranging from awareness to subjective experience.

Alan Turing proposed the Turing test to determine if a machine can think, which has been influential but also criticized.

ChatGPT passed a version of the Turing test in 2024, but this does not imply consciousness.

Critics argue the Turing test shows simulation, not mind or awareness.

ChatGPT operates by recognizing patterns in language rather than thinking like a human.

Large Language Models like ChatGPT are limited to the information they are trained on and cannot reflect or 'know' the information.

AI can be intelligent to some degree, but it is not conscious according to current scientific understanding.

The question of whether AI can become conscious is still open, with some experts arguing it's impossible due to the nature of algorithms.

Consciousness is seen by many cognitive scientists as an emergent phenomenon within the brain.

The concept of emergence suggests that machines could potentially have a 'mind' if we understand the processes of consciousness.

Marvin Minsky suggested that if we can specify the functional process of consciousness, there's no obstacle to building it into a machine.

Ray Kurzweil estimates that conscious machines could be built around 2030.

The speaker posits that it's a matter of time before we build conscious machines, with the bigger question being the implications afterward.

Transcripts

If you’ve ever had a text exchange or  conversation with something like ChatGPT,  

or Siri, or Amazon Alexa, you might have  found it difficult not to imagine a human  

being on the other side of the screen. In the 1960’s computer scientist Joseph  

Weizenbaum of MIT created a natural language  program called Eliza. It was a simple pattern  

matching program that simulated human  conversation. It gave an illusion of  

understanding to users, but as you might expect,  using 1960s technology, it did not have any  

capability to understand anything. Weizenbaum was  shocked that many people who used the program,  

including his own secretary, attributed  human-like feelings to the computer program. 

We generally tend to anthropomorphize anything  that even faintly resembles us. We often assume  

there’s an individual, or purpose or even a  conscious entity in human-seeming objects,  

without thinking about it. In fact, two-thirds of  people believe that AI possesses consciousness, 

But among scientists, there’s wide disagreement  on whether common forms of AI like the ones I  

mentioned are even intelligent, let alone  conscious. Is ChatGPT’s ability to write a  

Youtube script on consciousness, intelligence,  or is it simply regurgitating inputs given to  

it by a human-created, fine-tuned, algorithm? It seems no two people can even agree on what  

consciousness is. So we are going to try to  define it, and then answer the question are  

AI machines capable of being Conscious? How  would we recognize it if it happens? This  

may be one of the biggest questions we face  for our future. That’s coming up right now… 

Let’s first define what consciousness is,  so that we have a baseline for reference.  

Now this is not so easy. Wikipedia defines  consciousness as awareness of internal and  

external existence. Scientific American  defines it as everything you experience. 

The words associated with consciousness  include selfhood, soul, free will,  

subjective experience unique to the individual,  sentience – the capability to sense and respond  

with free will (or perceived free will) to its  world, and qualia, the subjective qualities of  

experience that is felt by the individual. Keep those ideas in mind as a general  

guideline for what consciousness likely  is, rather than get bogged down by a  

precise definition. For now, I like the simple  Wikipedia definition, awareness of existence. 

In 1950, English mathematician Alan Turing  proposed a way to determine whether a machine  

can actually think, whether it as a mind. This  proposal is now called the Turing test in his  

honor, but was originally called the imitation  game. In this test, a human judge holds a text  

conversation with two entities, one a human being  and a one a computer. If the judge cannot reliably  

tell which of the two entities is artificial,  Turing believed that the artificial machine  

must be considered as having a mind. It turns out that while the difficulty  

of meeting this standard may have seemed  insurmountable in 1950, it does not seem  

all that difficult today. In fact, in March of  2024, Stanford University researchers reported  

that the latest version of ChatGPT, GPT 4, had  passed a rigorous version of the Turing test. 

So does this mean ChatGPT is conscious? Not in  the least, according to scientists. Although  

the Turning test has been very influential,  as a kind of litmus test for consciousness,  

it has also received heavy criticism. The most  common criticism is that while the test can show  

that a machine can simulate human conversation,  it does not prove that the machine has a mind,  

or is aware. In other words, a machine that  passes the Turing test does not necessarily have  

consciousness. Some scientists have described  this metaphorically as a computer simulating  

a coffee machine. While it may perfectly  simulate the workings of a coffee machine,  

including all its functions and even sounds,  it does not make anything that we can actually  

drink to experience drinking coffee. So the question is whether ChatGPT is  

like the coffee machine simulating the  function of a mind, without actually being  

anything like a mind. To understand this,  let’s briefly look at how ChatGPT works. 

Imagine ChatGPT like a super-fast reader and  writer. It's been fed a massive number of books,  

articles, and conversations, and it's learned to  spot patterns in how people use words. This is why  

it’s called a Large Language Model, or LLM. When  you ask it something, it doesn't think like humans  

do. It pieces together words that fit best with  the question and context, based on patterns that  

it recognizes from all the material it was trained  on. It essentially predicts patterns of words. 

So can we say that ChatGPT has a mind? Well, no  because it doesn’t really quote unquote “know”  

anything. It is simply looking at patterns. The  problem with LLMs is that at the end of the day  

they are just super fancy synthesizers of  information, and restricted to whatever  

humans have taught them. They don’t have the  ability to reflect or "know" the information  

they are producing, to make novel conclusions,  or achieve new knowledge like humans have. They  

are limited to knowledge from the material they  are given to study, which is still human made. 

So the answer to my previous question is  yes, chatGPT is rather like the computer that  

can simulate a coffee machine but can’t produce  anything that we can actually drink. It can hold a  

conversation like a human being, but does not have  a mind to think on its own or have an awareness of  

itself. We can probably say that it is intelligent  at least to some degree, if we define intelligence  

as the ability to learn, store, synthesize and  interpret information to answer questions and  

solve problems. So this is what most scientists  think, that AI is intelligent but not conscious. 

Notice that I’m using AI and chatGPT  interchangeably because not only is it  

what most people think of when discussing  AI, but it is also arguably the most  

sophisticated form of AI currently. So if scientists agree that chatGPT  

is not conscious currently, does it have the  capability to eventually become conscious?  

That’s the question we will answer and provide  the rationale for in the rest of this video. 

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Now regarding the question of whether  chatGPT can ever become conscious,  

and again we are defining consciousness as  awareness of internal and external existence… 

There are some computer experts, including our  own in-house computer expert that thinks AI  

can never be conscious because as he says,  LLMs are nothing but algorithms trained to  

synthesize results based on human produced data.  And even if allowed to self-learn, it conforms to  

a human-defined fitness function, which is no less  or greater than the human that defined it. It will  

not lead to new thoughts or discoveries.  But the argument I posed to him is this:  

if you say that only humans or biological animals  can be conscious, then you are saying that there  

is something unique about a biological brain that  cannot ever be replicated artificially. What is  

that uniqueness about the human or animal brain? And by the way, I know there are some people  

who believe consciousness does not arise  from within the brain, but from elsewhere,  

and that the brain acts like a radio receiver.  To this I say, there is absolutely no evidence  

of this. No consciousness has ever been found in  a person or animal who did not have a functioning  

brain. There is no evidence of a receiving  mechanism of any kind in the brain. And no  

consciousness or thoughts have ever been detected  outside of the brain. So, no one can keep you from  

believing whatever you want, but if you believe  consciousness comes from somewhere else other than  

brains, it’s a belief, not based on any science. Most cognitive scientists believe that  

consciousness is an emergent phenomenon  arising within the brain. What does this  

mean? It means that you won’t find  consciousness in individual neurons,  

or other isolated brain structures, but it arises  from the interconnections and the chemical and  

electrical interactions of billions of neurons. The classical example of emergence comes from  

John Stuart Mill, the 19th century English  philosopher, using water. A hydrogen atom is  

not wet. Neither is an oxygen atom. Nor does  a single H2O molecule, made up of hydrogen  

and oxygen atoms, have that property. But put  lots of those molecules together, interacting  

at room temperature, and you have something new:  liquidity. Only now do you have something wet.  

That’s emergence. The emergent property of  “wetness” arising from countless interacting  

H2O molecules is analogous to “consciousness”  arising from countless interacting neurons. 

So from the brain emerges the  mind which has consciousness.  

The question is can machines have a mind? Marvin Minsky, a major figure in the history  

of artificial intelligence, who founded the MIT  artificial intelligence lab, said that “mind is  

what the brain does.” Well, there certainly is  something the brain is doing. In principle, we  

should be able to specify what that something is. Suppose there is something that consciousness  

does, and we can put our finger on what  that is. The next step would be to specify  

that functional something is operationally. At  its core, it must be a process that moves from  

some range of inputs to some range of outputs.  This is because consciousness manifests itself  

ultimately as a range of outputs that we perceive. Suppose we succeed in giving a formal outline of  

the process of consciousness. There shouldn’t be,  then, any obstacle to building that formal process  

into a machine. Now, it’s quite possible that we  don’t have the capability to build such a machine.  

It’s possible that such a machine requires some  combination of hardware and biological wetware.  

But at some point in the future this technology  can not be ruled out. When will this happen?  

Futurist Ray Kurzweil estimates around 2030.  That’s not so far away. I can wait 6 years. 

There was a time we thought no artificial  machine could think like humans enough to  

beat us at chess, or in the game  Jeopardy, or the Chinese game Go,  

or hold a conversation without us noticing. All  these have been accomplished in recent years with  

man-made machines. Is there really something so  unique about a mind that it too cannot also be  

replicated by a machine? I don’t think so. My opinion is that It's probably only a  

matter of time that we will have all we need in  order to build conscious machines. In my view,  

the biggest question is not if nor even  when, but after it happens, then what?