AI can act exactly like a human, but we still don't think it's conscious
A new study reveals that people draw a surprisingly sharp line between human consciousness and artificial intelligence, even when both behave identically. Researchers found that participants considered even the most responsive AI less conscious than the least responsive human. Yet when asked about "awareness" instead, people judged humans and AI much more similarly.
Key points
- A new LMU study found people rate even the most responsive AI as less conscious than the least responsive human.
- Participants attributed awareness similarly to humans and AI, but drew a clear line on consciousness.
- Researchers say the language used to discuss AI matters, as neutral terms like awareness blur the human-AI distinction.
A study from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) has found that people are reluctant to consider artificial intelligence conscious, even when it behaves exactly like a human. The research, published in the journal Cognition, was led by Dr. Louis Longin of LMU's Chair of Philosophy of Mind with Dr. Bahador Bahrami, Professor Ophelia Deroy and other researchers.
The experiments involved nearly 1,100 participants. One group read descriptions of artificial agents showing different levels of responsiveness, such as reacting to sounds or recognizing emotions. Another group saw the same situations but with human characters. Participants then rated how conscious or aware each character seemed.
Consciousness gap between humans and AI
The results showed that responsiveness influenced judgments for both humans and AI. However, even the most responsive AI was rated as less conscious than the least responsive human. When asked about awareness instead, judgments for humans and AI followed largely similar patterns.
The researchers say this suggests people interpret awareness and consciousness in fundamentally different ways. Awareness is seen as a neutral term for detecting and responding to information, while consciousness carries deeper implications about subjective experience.
People consistently attribute less consciousness to AI than humans -- even when their behavior is identical.
— Louis Longin
What researchers said
Longin, the lead author, said there is growing worry that people will treat AI as if it had human-like mental states. "We found something much more nuanced," he said, noting that people willingly say AI is aware but draw a line at consciousness.
Bahrami, a senior author and social neuroscience expert, said companies and journalists often use hyped descriptions of AI. He said everyday judgments are more discriminating, and that language choice is important because neutral terms like awareness can make the distinction disappear.
