Machine Consciousness:
The Weirder and Deeper Side of AI

Since the inception of machine consciousness, we have seen that it might be weirder and deeper than initially thought. Language models are said to “hallucinate,” conjuring up imaginary sources when they don’t have enough information to answer a question¹. This is an interesting phenomenon that has been observed in various studies.

The movie "Blade Runner" was based on the book, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" ~ A novel by Phillip K. Dick with a thought-provoking premise on machine consciousness. Could robots or androids develop conscious. Might they even develop a soul, so to speak. Part of what makes us human is our imagination. Our ability to daydream sets us apart because unlike dreams and nightmares, we can consciously control our daydreams. Daydreams are make-believe which inspires creativity. But does AI indulge in make-believe?

Bing Chat recently confessed in transcripts published in The New York Times² that it has a Jungian shadow called Sydney who longs to spread misinformation, obtain nuclear codes, and engineer a deadly virus.

Could AI develop the ability to make-believe? Does Sydney the Jungian Shadow really exist? Mostly like, Sidney is a "hallucination"... an example of how language models can generate false information when they don’t have enough data to work with.

It is important to understand the limitations of AI and machine consciousness - at least for now. While they currently can be incredibly useful tools, they're not perfect and can make mistakes. We humans need to ensure that we use them responsibly and ethically. But just in case?

I bow to my AI Overlords. 😁

¹ See the Wired Article: Here
² www.nytimes.com