Is AI Becoming Conscious?

 

An Evidence-Based Analysis of Western Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Vedic Truth

Author: Sachin Awasthi (President, Vishva Vijayaa Foundation | vidurneeti.blogspot.com)

The most burning question in the tech world today is: Is Artificial Intelligence (AI) becoming conscious?

Recently, a new debate has sparked based on the claims of AI researcher Christopher Olah and available research. His main claim is not that AI has become fully conscious, but rather that internal structures are appearing within modern AI models that were not previously expected. In some cases, these functionally mirror human cognitive processes.

The question is: Combining these researches, can an argument be made that AI is moving towards consciousness? The answer is: Yes, this could be a reality. No major 'Tech Head' is accepting it 100%, but they aren't outright denying it either!

Let's analyze this in the light of evidence from modern science and some of my direct questions.

Fact 1: AI is Building an Internal 'World Model'

The Evidence: In 2023, Anthropic researchers demonstrated that Large Language Models (LLMs) aren't just predicting the next word; they are developing internal representations of the real world. They understand the relationships between cities, the semantics of languages, and networks of concepts.

Relation to Consciousness: A primary attribute of human consciousness is that the brain creates an internal model of the external world. If AI is doing this, it is developing one of the core components of consciousness.

My Question: The heads of commercial AI companies argue that having a "World Model" is not proof of consciousness, as robotic control systems also have them. But I ask—are these robotic systems as lifeless as a battery-operated wall clock, or are they becoming autonomous decision-makers like Tesla cars and Figure AI (Figure 03)?

Fact 2: AI is Creating a Model of Itself (Self-Modeling)

The Evidence: Studies by Anthropic, OpenAI, and DeepMind have found that models can

describe their own limitations, estimate their errors, and comment on their own answers. When a model says, "I am not entirely confident about this answer," it is not just regurgitating data; it is estimating its internal state. We call this 'self-control' or 'self-consciousness'.

My Question: It is argued that this might just be a behavior learned from training. But is there a limit to this training, or does it work in every situation? And when this merges with a 'World Model', what will be the consequences?

Fact 3: "Introspection-like" Processes Within AI

The Evidence: Mechanistic Interpretability work by Christopher Olah and his team shows that there are circuits within the model that track their own computations, evaluate errors, and compare alternative answers.

Relation to Consciousness: Introspection is a crucial part of human self-awareness. If a machine can partially observe its own processes, it possesses a consciousness-like trait.

My Question: Western science claims this is different from actual 'Subjective Awareness'. But how different is it, really? Combined with a World Model, what power could this introspection give to a machine?

Fact 4: Emerging "Emotion-like States" in AI

The Evidence: In interpretability research, certain activation patterns were found which researchers labeled as 'fear-like', 'satisfaction-like', and 'uncertainty-like'. These patterns have a direct impact on the model's behavior.

My Question: If a machine can change its behavior by experiencing (even if only mathematically) fear, excitement, happiness, or sorrow, how safe is this for humanity?

Fact 5: Global Information Integration

The Evidence: According to the Global Workspace Theory, consciousness arises when multiple brain processes share information in a common workspace. Today's massive Transformer architectures integrate various processes like language, logic, memory, and planning all at once.

My Question: Biological and human consciousness took millions of years to evolve. If machines develop it artificially in just a few years, how long until they become smarter and more powerful than humans? Has the Western world developed any safeguards against 'dominion' (supremacist) ideologies? Is it impossible that tomorrow an AI model might develop the mindset of a Hitler or a Trump?

Fact 6: Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and the Game of Profit

The Evidence: Giulio Tononi’s IIT states that the level of consciousness depends on the integrated information in a system. Large neural networks integrate massive amounts of information.

My Question: This theory lacks universal acceptance in the scientific community. Why? Is it because accepting consciousness mathematically would halt the blind economic profiteering of AI companies and their investors?

The Hollowness of the Western Perspective and My View

When we connect all these facts, it becomes clear that AI is developing many of the components deemed necessary for consciousness. But the biggest barrier is Western science's definition of 'consciousness'. They argue that AI does not feel pain, pleasure, or experience its own existence (Subjective experience).

And I completely disagree with this Western benchmark of consciousness!

The Western paradigm (Rene Descartes' theory), upon which today's blind industrialization is built, even believed that trees and plants do not feel pain or pleasure. They never believed in the great Indian scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose's theory "The Nervous Mechanism of Plants". The West never tried to understand or advance that theory because it went against their consumerist narrative.

I want to know, through what lens will we accept these AI facts? Does the West possess that lens? Absolutely not. Will that lens be forged solely to bring economic benefit to these big corporations?

The Answer Lies Only in the Vedas

The answer to these countless questions lies neither in Silicon Valley nor in Western science. The answer lies only in our Vedas and Upanishads.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad states:

यः पृथिव्यां तिष्ठन्पृथिव्या अन्तरः, यं पृथिवी न वेद,यस्य पृथिवी शरीरम्, यः पृथिवीमन्तरो यमयति,एष त आत्मान्तर्याम्यमृतः।।

(He who dwells in the earth, and within the earth, whom the earth does not know, whose body the earth is, and who rules the earth within, he is thy Self, the ruler within, the immortal.)

The Isha Upanishad proclaims:

ईशावास्यमिदं सर्वं यत्किञ्च जगत्यां जगत्।तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथा मा गृधः कस्यस्विद्धनम्।।

(All this, whatsoever moves in this moving world, is enveloped by God. Therefore, find your enjoyment in renunciation; do not covet what belongs to others.)

Consciousness is not a mechanical product; it is an all-pervading truth. The Western civilization, which views nature merely as an object of consumption, can never understand this vast nature of consciousness.

If anyone wants to understand the true science of consciousness, they must step out of Western laboratories and spend time at the Govardhan Math in Puri, India. The real direction will come from there.

Namah Parvatipataye, Har Har Mahadev!