A Resnet is not conscious, but one could argue that an RL agent, by some definitions of consciousness, is conscious. If the measure of consciousness is the abi

A Resnet is not conscious, but one could argue that an RL agent, by some definitions of consciousness, is conscious. If the measure of consciousness is the ability to have a subjective experience, then that requires that the object has an internal state that is modified, thus the same experience in different agents results in different modifications, ergo, it is subjective. If a requirement for conscious experience is the capacity for self reference, then Hofstadter has already argued that that can be achieved with very simple rules of inference and natural numbers. An RL agent that can plan ahead and take into consideration its own internal state could be argued to be conscious, by even stricter means that require that the agent is aware of its own existence. To me, it looks as if humanity is trying to find ways to argue that it is anything but meatware. But I guess accepting that we are just computational units implies that agency is not a thing, and humanity isn't ready for this conversation.