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Artificial consciousness (AC), also known as machine consciousness (MC)
or synthetic consciousness, is a field related to Artificial intelligence
whose aim is to produce a rigorous and objective definition of consciousness,
in a mathematical sense, and build a theory toward implementating it in
a model or a cognitive architecture.
The idea of producing an artificial sentient being is extremely ancient,
and is featured in numerous myths (the Golem, the Greek promethean myth,
mechanical men in Chrétien de Troyes, Frankenstein being examples).
In science fiction, artificial conscious beings often take the form of
robots or artificial intelligences. Artificial consciousness is an interesting
philosophical problem because, with increased understanding of genetics,
neuroscience and information processing, it may soon be possible to create
a conscious entity.
It may be possible biologically to create a being by manufacturing a
genome that had the genes necessary for a human brain, and to inject this
into a suitable host germ cell. Such a creature, when implanted and born
from a suitable womb, would very possibly be conscious and artificial.
But what properties of this organism would be responsible for its consciousness?
Could such a being be made from non-biological components? Can the techniques
used in the design of computers be adapted to create a conscious entity?
Would it ever be ethical to do such a thing?
Neuroscience hypothesizes that consciousness is generated by the interoperation
of various parts of the brain, called the neural correlates of consciousness,
or NCCs. The brain somehow avoids the problem described in the Homunculus
fallacy and overcomes the problems described below in the next section.
Proponents of AC believe computers can emulate this interoperation, which
is not yet fully understood.
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