Scientists Say They're Now Actively Trying to Build Conscious Robots

Of course, the biggest issue that the industry runs into with the question of consciousness -- you know, other than the technological challenge that it would undoubtedly be -- is the fact that, well, concept itself doesn't really have a firm definition, in the field or beyond it. Philosophically, consciousness is vague and debatable. And scientifically, as the NYT notes, efforts to tidily nail consciousness down to specific brain functions or otherwise signifiers tends to fall flat. There are also a number of deeply ethical questions that arise with just the concept of machine consciousness, particularly related to machine labor.