The Edge of Sentience

Birch, Jonathan

doi:10.1093/9780191966729.001.0001

2024

DOI: 10.1093/9780191966729.001.0001

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The Edge of Sentience

Jonathan Birch

Abstract: Can octopuses feel pain and pleasure? What about crabs, shrimps, insects, or spiders? How do we tell whether a person unresponsive after severe brain injury might be suffering? When does a fetus in the womb start to have conscious experiences? Could there even be rudimentary feelings in miniature models of the human brain, grown from human stem cells? And what about AI? These are questions about the edge of sentience, and they are subject to enormous, disorienting uncertainty. The stakes are immense, and negle… Show more

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2024

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Cited by 3 publications

References 610 publications

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Speciesism in natural language processing research

Takeshita,

Rzepka

2024

AI Ethics

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Natural Language Processing (NLP) research on AI Safety and social bias in AI has focused on safety for humans and social bias against human minorities. However, some AI ethicists have argued that the moral significance of nonhuman animals has been ignored in AI research. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is speciesism, i.e., discrimination against nonhuman animals, in NLP research. First, we explain why nonhuman animals are relevant in NLP research. Next, we survey the findings of existing research on speciesism in NLP researchers, data, and models and further investigate this problem in this study. The findings of this study suggest that speciesism exists within researchers, data, and models, respectively. Specifically, our survey and experiments show that (a) among NLP researchers, even those who study social bias in AI, do not recognize speciesism or speciesist bias; (b) among NLP data, speciesist bias is inherent in the data annotated in the datasets used to evaluate NLP models; (c) OpenAI GPTs, recent NLP models, exhibit speciesist bias by default. Finally, we discuss how we can reduce speciesism in NLP research.

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Speciesism in natural language processing research

Takeshita,

Rzepka

2024

AI Ethics

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Rethinking Animal Consciousness Research to Prioritize Well-Being

Baker,

King,

Lynn

2024

Camb Q Healthc Ethics

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The authors critique the NY Declaration on Animal Consciousness, which does not denounce continued captivity and invasive research in the pursuit of animal consciousness markers. They argue that such research often increases animal suffering by accepting harmful practices. Instead, they propose a nonanthropocentric, ethical framework aligned with the Belmont Report’s principle of beneficence, advocating for noninvasive methods in natural habitats. This approach prioritizes animal well-being, recognizing and safeguarding the intrinsic value of all conscious beings.

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Markers of consciousness in infants: Towards a ‘cluster‐based’ approach

Frohlich,

Bayne

2024

Acta Paediatrica

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As recently as the 1980s, it was not uncommon for paediatric surgeons to operate on infants without anaesthesia. Today, the same omission would be considered criminal malpractice, and there is an increased concern with the possibility of consciousness in the earliest stage of human infancy. This concern reflects a more general trend that has characterised science since the early 1990s of taking consciousness seriously. While this attitude shift has opened minds towards the possibility that our earliest experiences predate our first memories, convincing demonstrations of infant consciousness remain challenging given that infants cannot report on their experiences. Furthermore, while many behavioural and neural markers of consciousness that do not rely on language have been validated in adults, no one specific marker can be confidently translated to infancy. For this reason, we have proposed the ‘cluster‐based’ approach, in which a consensus of evidence across many markers, all pointing towards the same developmental period, could be used to argue convincingly for the presence of consciousness.ConclusionWe review the most promising markers for early consciousness, arguing that consciousness is likely to be in place by 5 months of age if not earlier.

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The Edge of Sentience

Cited by 3 publications

References 610 publications

Speciesism in natural language processing research

Speciesism in natural language processing research

Rethinking Animal Consciousness Research to Prioritize Well-Being

Markers of consciousness in infants: Towards a ‘cluster‐based’ approach

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