CLA SI: Eric Schwitzgebel

  ·  PSYC, PHIL, LING ·  COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS  ·  SCHOLARLY INTERSECTIONS  ·  

Friday 17 April 2026  •  3:00pm  •  PSYC–150

Eric Schwitzgebel (University of California Riverside)
‘Will AI soon be conscious, and what should we do if we don’t know?’

Abstract: According to some leading scientific theories, we will soon be capable of creating AI systems as richly conscious as human beings. According to other leading scientific theories, AI consciousness remains in the far distant future if it is possible at all. Likely, we will create debatable persons: AI systems who might deserve fully humanlike rights and respect as our equals or who equally well might be no more conscious or rights-deserving than a ceiling fan. What should we do in the presence of such systems?