Amy Kind

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5 Days Ago

But it’s consciousness in the experience sense – what philosophers refer to as phenomenal consciousness – that I’ll be focusing on in the remainder of this Guide. This kind of consciousness serves as a fundamental part of our existence, perhaps even the most fundamental part of our existence. But despite its fundamentality, and though we are intimately aware of our own conscious experience, the notion of consciousness is a perplexing one.

~ Amy Kind, from How to think about consciousness

slip:4upygu4.

The current tools so breathlessly referred to as artificial intelligence, are still only tools. They have no agency, no goals, and critically they are not consciousness. Or, so we think. “Is conscious” is exceedingly important to determine, and it turns out it’s really hard to do the less like us (think: bats, dolphins, octopus, bacteria, …) some living thing is.

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Where does it come from?

January 27

Not every time that we talk about consciousness are we talking about experience. Sometimes ‘consciousness’ refers to awakeness. When you’re asleep at night, or blacked out from too much to drink, you’re not conscious in this sense of the term. Alternatively, sometimes ‘consciousness’ refers to awareness. It’s this kind of consciousness that you lack when you’ve zoned out while driving. You’re awake, but not you’re not fully aware of your surroundings. It’s also this kind of consciousness that activists target when they engage in the process of consciousness raising.

~ Amy Kind, from How to think about consciousness

slip:4upygu4.

I no longer get stuck wondering where did my consciousness come from when I was born. Nope. I’m now stuck on: Where does it go every night when I fall asleep. …and where does it come from each morning that I awake?

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