Consciousness Conundrum: Integrated Information Theory vs. Cognitive Consciousness
On this episode, host Pat Flynn continues a three-part conversation with Dr. Selmer Bringsjord about all things related to AI, consciousness, and rationality. In Part 2, the discussion turns to Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and its claims about consciousness. IIT proposes that consciousness arises from the degree of informational integration in a system, so more integrated systems would have higher levels of consciousness. However, Flynn and Dr. Bringsjord argue that this view is flawed, as it leads to the counterintuitive conclusion that even simple devices like smartphones or robots could be considered conscious to some degree. They also raise ethical concerns about the potential implications if IIT is correct and consciousness can arise in artificial systems. The speakers contrast IIT with their own approach, called Cognitive Consciousness, which draws a sharper distinction between human-level consciousness and other forms of information processing.
