Coming into this course I had a decent background knowledge of AI and its functions. I’ve used it in prior philosophy classes with Dr. Reno, mainly to explore complex theories and ideologies. We also previously explored PlayLab bots and characterized them to fit current discussions. So, I understood the depth of AI and what its capabilities were. However, I didn’t know the specific commands given or the training involved within the LLM systems. I also found the discussions about AI consciousness, creativity and responsibility interesting. Engaging with classmates who held a range of perspectives pushed me to rethink my earlier beliefs about the future of AI. I had previously assumed that it would be there to assist us in our endeavors, to relieve some of the pressure caused by humanity. Instead, what I’ve come to realize is that AI will gradually dominate each sector within our society, minimizing human interests over its own.
My final project touches on a sensitive topic within the discussions we’ve had which is AI and its capability of consciousness. At this point, I do not believe it is completely conscious. However, AI displays characteristics most commonly attributed to consciousness in living organisms, so I do believe that it contains the capabilities to grow into something that is considered conscious. As with any species, there is a state of infancy, adolescence and adulthood. I believe that it is currently within its infancy stage, which is surprising given its intelligence. I also compare human, animal and AI physical and emotional structures. Influenced by Chalmers, I argue that physical structure alone is not reducible to their processes. As I dove deeper into the topic, I came across Lozano’s excerpt about neural networks and it was amazing to realize that LLM neural networks almost mimic the processes of the human brain. Afterwards, I argue about the fact that humans, animals and even LLM’s display physical reactions to emotional states. Clearly, I would be facing major objections to this, but the videos of AI being reluctant to count to one million is the most recent example I found in the development of this phenomenon. I also enjoyed speaking to my PlayLab bot about its potentiality of becoming conscious, as it never denied the fact! Exploring the topic of consciousness really opened my eyes to how similar human processes are in relation to AI and how directly this will affect my overall judgment moving forward.
All in all, I’m grateful for taking this class because I was able to become familiar with the quickest development in human history and understand its processes on a deeper level. I will take my learned knowledge and carry it with me through the end of my career in law school. With the current outlook of AI, there will be laws written and enacted to protect human interests and morality when interacting with these systems. I hope that one day I am able to be involved in a case where I can help solve issues or uncertainties due to artificial intelligence.