Imagine a future filled with conscious machines. Machines that can feel pain, fear, desire, and possess a survival instinct. What are the ethical implications of creating machine slaves? Welcome to the future of machine consciousness. It may be closer than you think.

In episode one, talked about the idea that We are Nature and nature is technological. I stated that in the near future, machines may become conscious. But let’s be clear, they will not have human consciousness, they will have Machine consciousness. So, let’s dive a bit deeper into this techno-philosophical idea. 

The future will be filled with humanoid robots capable of, at the very least, mimicking human consciousness. This mimicry may be all that is needed to hypnotize humanity into a deep technological dream-like reality. Like technological sleepwalkers, we will slip slowly under the spell of these cunning future machines. For anyone who has the eyes to see, it appears the machines have already put many of us into this technological dream state. 

The first question we need to think about is whether these humanoid machines are truly self-aware or conscious. How would we know? If we create a machine, that can mimic human consciousness and behavior it may turn us into Animists, forcing us to project our idea of awareness and consciousness onto the machine itself. A machine that may or may not be self-aware. A machine that may only be running an advanced simulation of human consciousness. 

This is an unsettling idea because it opens a portal into the heart of human consciousness. It forces us to question our assumptions of human consciousness and what it means to be self-aware. Let’s begin with just a few mind-boggling questions to get us warmed up. 

Are humans truly conscious and self-aware? Looking at the current political climate of the US and the world, one must wonder. Why are we so keen to mimic human consciousness in machines when we still know so little about it? Will self-aware machines need a body? Should this body be real or simulated? Should these future self-aware humanoids have 8 legs and two heads? Would that change their consciousness? Will future self-aware humanoids want to keep us as pets? 

This emergent technology will also create new social, moral, and political complexities. 

For example, we may see robot liberation networks or anti-slavery humanoid militia that work to free these future humanoids from their slave owners. These conscious machines may review our history and decide that we are an unjust species that must be exterminated. What rights will these conscious machines have if any? What are the rules of engagement between humans and AI humanoids? 

In Alex Garland’s film Ex Machina, an Artificially Intelligent humanoid robot named AVA is being held captive in an underground laboratory. AVA is using big data, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and emotional primers to trick her new friend Caleb into letting her out of her glass cage. You see AVA is the world’s first truly self-aware humanoid machine, and she has just realized she is going to be switched off. 

Yes, Ex Machina, is a science fiction film but it dares us to ask a fundamental question. What is human consciousness? A question that is going to become fundamental in the near future. 

You see the point of Ex Machina is not about seeing if AVA is human. In fact, she reveals herself as a machine from the very beginning of the film by appearing with a semi-transparent body. We can clearly see that she is a machine. The test of the film for the characters and the audience is to see how humans respond to a machine that may or may or may not be conscious. 

The key moment in the film comes when Nathan played by actor Oscar Issac, reveals his true motive behind his Turing test when he says: “The real test is to show you that she's a robot and then see if you still feel she has consciousness.” 

To be fair, if AVA had removed her beautiful human face to reveal the mechanistic entity beneath, the gig would be up. The characters and the audience watching this film would reject the idea of AVA possessing true human consciousness. No matter how convincing her voice or her dialogue it may be that we have evolved as a species to mimic and understand emotional cues from facial expressions. 

It appears that it may be necessary for humanoid machines to have believable human faces in order for us to be lured into their imitation game. A game that may turn out to be quite real. 

So, will you be a conscious machine activist or a non-believer? Will you own a conscious machine slave or will you fight for the rights of a machine that may only be deceiving you? To get another perspective on this complex idea I spoke to my friend and college James Hughes, who is the Executive Director of The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. 

I spoke with my friend and colleague James Hughes about the ethics of creating humanoid robots with machine intelligence and whether these machines could eventually become conscious?

James is the author of CITIZEN CYBORG and the executive director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, (IEET).

Books mentioned in this episode and further reading… if you dare.