https://phys.org/news/2026-06-consciousness-unique-earthlings-paper.html
“Does consciousness depend on flesh and blood? The answer is almost certainly
no, according to Eric Schwitzgebel, a distinguished professor of philosophy at
the University of California, Riverside. In a new working paper, Schwitzgebel
and Jeremy Pober, a former UCR graduate student who is now a postdoctoral
researcher at the University of Lisbon, assert that consciousness is likely
possible in life forms made of very different stuff. Think of the five-limbed
alien with a rocklike exterior in the recent blockbuster movie "Project Hail
Mary."
Schwitzgebel and Pober do not attempt to define consciousness; they proceed
from the heuristic premise that it's a real and recognizable phenomenon.
Instead, they ask a narrower question: Must it be tied to the biology found on
Earth?
The paper comes at a time when the question of conscious artificial
intelligence looms large, fueling dreams and nightmares. The authors, who touch
only briefly on the matter, do not take a firm position either way and, in
fact, diverge in their views. But the arguments they advance leave open the
possibility that AI could be conscious, though perhaps not in its current form.
At the heart of the paper's argument is the philosophical notion of "substrate
flexibility." A property, such as the ability to hold water, is substrate
flexible if it can be achieved with different kinds of materials. For example,
a cup can be made of glass or plastic, a book can be printed on paper or stored
electronically, and music can be encoded on vinyl records or servers.
Consciousness, Schwitzgebel and Pober argue, is also substrate flexible. "The
universe may contain minds stranger than we can imagine," Schwitzgebel said.”
Via Kenny Chaffin.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
