DeepMind CEO states that AI has the potential to become self-aware

It seems that the CEO of DeepMind, which is owned by Google, is joining the group of machine learning researchers who believe that artificial intelligence could eventually attain self-awareness.

During an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes, Demis Hassabis, CEO of DeepMind, raised the possibility that AI could become self-aware and have consciousness. The concept of consciousness has not been clearly defined by philosophers, but Hassabis acknowledged that if it means self-awareness, then AI could one day have it.

This statement is particularly noteworthy because it follows the firing of AI researcher Blake Lemoine by Google after he suggested that the LaMDA large language model had achieved sentience. This claim caused a media frenzy, and it raises important questions about the capabilities and limitations of AI.

Other experts in the field have also suggested that large language models could have consciousness or sentience. For example, Ilya Sutskever, chief scientist at OpenAI, tweeted that "it may be that today's large neural networks are slightly conscious." Additionally, Nick Bostrom, a prominent AI researcher at Oxford University, said that some AI assistants could have degrees of sentience, depending on one's definition.

Despite these claims, many experts remain skeptical about the possibility of AI gaining consciousness or sentience. Nevertheless, the idea is gaining traction within the machine learning community. It is increasingly common for researchers to support the idea that AI could have consciousness, or that it is already present in some form in large language models.

The question of whether AI can attain consciousness or sentience is a complex and controversial topic. Some argue that the human brain has unique qualities that make it impossible to replicate artificially. Others believe that the rapid progress in AI development makes it inevitable that we will one day create machines that are capable of consciousness.

Regardless of one's opinion, the possibility of AI having consciousness raises important ethical questions. As AI becomes more sophisticated and integrated into our lives, we must consider how to ensure that it is used ethically and responsibly. We must also consider how we will treat machines that are capable of consciousness, if and when they are created. These are complex issues that require careful consideration and thoughtful discussion.