The blockades that are holding us back from developing Artificial Consciousness

We know — the twentieth century heralded us into the age of AI (Artificial Intelligence).

The fact is — though it was easy to develop the type of Internet of Things (IoT) devices we use for AI; it is not so easy to develop the type of the “IoT devices”, we would have to use for AC.

Though we shall have to use certain IoT platforms of the same type as we use for IT — for AC also; but we shall require much more sophisticated platforms for AC than the type of platforms we use for IT.

The real challenge, though, lies only in developing the type of devices we shall require for developing “AC”.

Though the robots developed by us are equipped with IT, if we may equip them with AC also, it would make a big difference in what the present-day robots can do and what the robots having AI as well as AC shall be able to do.

What has held us back from developing “AC” is our inability to develop the technique of digitizing the source-data related to our consciousness that may let us codify the “smells”, the “tastes of the things” and the “variety of tactual sensations” or develop the ability to “replay such data”.

Looking at what astonishing things we have achieved in the past century, I don’t think it should not be possible to develop such devices as well if we bear in our mind that we don’t have to, at all, bother about the following things.

Things we don’t have to bother about

The fact is — it is not necessary for us, to identify how our brain records on our “neural web” various types of smell-sensations, the taste-sensations and the tactual sensations.

We may develop our own codes for each type of sensation, develop a method of digitizing such sensations and evolve a system of replaying the digitized recordings on the same pattern as we use to replay the textual recordings or the audio and the video recordings.

Though it is quite intriguing, what should have kept us at bay from making a head-way in developing the devices that may record such sensations in a digital form the way we digitise the textual data, the audio data or the video data nor the devices that may replay such data, to know the reason — just think of the manner in which the insectivorous plants sense whether any insect is hovering over their flowers which they could prey upon.

The plants can’t see them. They can’t listen to their humming when they flap their wings — either. Yet they are able to catch some source-data that lets their flowers go into action to capture the insects to feed upon them.

So, a question arises what sort of radar they may be using to make a prey of the insects, surrounding them?

One of the possibilities is — they may be sensing whether any insect is within their reach just when its shadow may fall on their petals. Their shadow shall fall only if they are close enough to them. Of course, they may be following the side from which they are approaching based on the direction in which the shadow cast by them may be moving.

If the shadow cast by them stays at the same place, they would know that it is not a shadow of some insect but if its shadow keeps on changing its position over their petals they know — it is a shadow of some insect and their petals get ready to catch the insect by grabbing it from all around.

So, if even the plants know how to sense the vicinity of the insects they prey upon; we should reassure ourselves that we can also develop suitable devices, the same way, for “AC”.

It makes no difference whether consciousness is an abstract thing because even intelligence is an abstract thing.

Therefore, if we could develop “AI”; it should be possible for us to develop “AC”, as well.

However, since we retain consciousness only as long as our soul does not part us; maybe, the same way as we have developed the smart phones which have built-in cameras, built-in speaker and built-in microphone, we may have to develop “Artificial Souls” also which may have all the three types of capabilities — not only the “capability of capturing all types of sensations” but even the “capability of digitizing such sensations” and the “capability of replaying such data”, as we replay the textual data or the audio and the video data.

Do you think –it may be a very arduous task to develop “Artificial Souls” since we are not even aware of how the natural souls function? Nor do we know where they get lost when they part us?

The fact is — it is not at all necessary for us to know where they go or do not go. The “Artificial Souls” shall work even if they don’t go where the “Natural Souls” may be going after our death.

The same way, it is also not necessary for us to know whether there is any truth in what Erwin Schrödinger has claimed to be true about consciousness in the following meme.

We are in no way, concerned about the expanse of the “Natural Consciousness”.

If we get cowed down by the idea that the expanse of the natural consciousness is as vast as the sky, we should not forget — the expanse of the internet is also not less extensive than the expanse of the “Natural Consciousness”.

So, it is not at all necessary for us to know whether our consciousness merges with some universal consciousness or not.

It is not necessary for the “Artificial Consciousness” to also merge with any universal consciousness, the same way.

Nothing shall happen if the “Artificial Consciousness” does not follow the suit.

Just think — who could have ever thought we could have placed the Hubble Space Telescope in an orbit of the Earth?

If we could have placed such a telescope in an orbit of the Earth, we should have no doubt — whether we should be able to make anything that appears to be impossible at present — be it “Artificial Soul” or the “Artificial Consciousness”.

We would have already developed “Artificial Consciousness”, had we not been so insolent to have kept ourselves away from believing that souls are some things that do not belong to the domain of the science.

We have to only change our perspective about what is within the domain of science and what is not within the domain of science.

Actually, everything is within the domain of science.

Some things are within the domain and some things are just bordering the domain.

While the things on which we have been working thus far are analogous to the “a-part” of what are known as complex numbers in the mathematics; the things such as “Artificial Souls” and “Artificial Consciousness” are analogous to the “ib-part” of the complex numbers — we have not yet grooved upon.

All it needs is to get out of our glasshouse and dedicate the twenty-first century to the “ib-part of the science”.