Consciousness In Humans, Animals And Artificial Intelligence - AI Summary

"The hypotheses underlying our platform theory of consciousness can be tested in experimental studies," as the authors describe one advantage of their concept over alternative models. The complex cognitive operations that, according to platform theory, are associated with consciousness are applied to mental representations that are maintained and processed. The authors suggest for example the following experiment to test their platform theory: a human, an experimental animal or artificial intelligence is confronted with a novel problem that can only be solved by combining two or more rules learned in a different context. "To what extent an artificial intelligence which is capable of independently solving a new and complex problem for which it has no predefined solution algorithm can likewise be considered conscious has to be tested," point out the authors. The evolution of intellectual capacities has brought forth a continuum of consciousness levels subserved by neuronal networks of varying complexity.