Artificial Sentience: The other side of the story
Abstract
There is another side to the story of the account of artificial sentience — one that makes the possibility of artificial sentience unlikely: the fundamental difference between living bodies and artificial systems. Sentience occurs in strongly embodied, living entities, and not in disembodied artificial systems, nor in robots. The appearance of sentience is exacerbated by deceptive behaviour and anthropomorphism. The risks of keeping an open mind about the required underlying substrate are in wasted efforts to protect systems that cannot suffer, and in placing inappropriate trust in their abilities.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Philosophy and Theoretical Science
Literary and Philosophical Studies
Cybernetics and Technology in Society
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Animal Sentience
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 38
- Publication date
- 4 March 2026
- Language
- EN