The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have reignited a profound debate in the world of philosophy: Can advanced machines possess phenomenal consciousness, i.e., have a subjective experience?
HÊVÎ BAKUR
ANF NEWS CENTER
Friday, November 28, 2025
This issue, which philosopher David Chalmers calls the "Hard Problem," is further complicated by the claims of AI prediction experts like Ray Kurzweil. Kurzweil argues that AI will reach The Singularity in the near future and the gap between human and machine consciousness will close.
PHENOMENAL CONSCIOUSNESS CONCERN
The rapid progress in AI raises not only technical but also fundamental philosophical questions. The most important of these is phenomenal consciousness.
Phenomenal consciousness means "how something feels"; that is, it refers to the quality of human subjective experiences: feeling heat, feeling pain, or perceiving the color blue.
In this discussion, AI expert Ray Kurzweil makes some pretty radical claims based on his vision of the singularity.
PHILOSOPHICAL DEADLOCK
In philosophy, phenomenal consciousness is still considered the "Hard Problem". While today's AI excels in functional tasks such as computation, image recognition, and language generation, it does not involve subjective experience or qualitative sensations.
Critics argue that no matter how advanced a machine is, it will only produce a functional imitation of intelligence, but not truly conscious.
AI AND UNIQUENESS
Ray Kurzweil, whose technological predictions are often correct, creates a wide area of discussion around the world. According to him, the singularity will occur in 2045: Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) will exceed all human cognitive capacity.
According to Kurzweil, AI will not only surpass human cognitive functions, but will also be able to form the basis of subjective experience; that is, he will be able to have phenomenal consciousness.
Kurzweil suggests that when machines reach a level of integration similar to the human brain, the distinction between function and experience will disappear.
BIOLOGICAL-ARTIFICIAL INTEGRATION
Kurzweil also describes the 'singularity' as a period in which man and machine will integrate. Through nanobots to be implanted in the brain, the human mind will be directly connected to AI. In such a scenario, the distinction between human and AI consciousness would blur.
In this case, the question of whether AI has a phenomenal consciousness becomes even more urgent.
SERIOUS QUESTIONS RAISED BY SINGLENESS
If Kurzweil's claims materialize and AI achieves phenomenal consciousness, crucial questions will arise:
- Should a machine with truly subjective experience have individual rights, such as the right not to suffer or the right to life?
- If a machine becomes truly capable of feeling and thinking, what would be the position of man in the universe?
The debate on AI and phenomenal consciousness is not only an academic issue but also pivotal for the ethical and political design of future AI systems.
If technology moves in the direction Kurzweil envisions, we will have to answer these questions much sooner. Or perhaps the technology Kurzweil envisions will give birth to just this kind of AI.
'Digital brain' breaks new ground in science, challenges ethical framework
The Blue Brain Project, launched in Switzerland, revolutionized neurological disease research by creating a digital replica of the human brain, while raising important ethical questions.
ANF NEWS CENTER
Friday, November 28, 2025
This issue, which philosopher David Chalmers calls the "Hard Problem," is further complicated by the claims of AI prediction experts like Ray Kurzweil. Kurzweil argues that AI will reach The Singularity in the near future and the gap between human and machine consciousness will close.
PHENOMENAL CONSCIOUSNESS CONCERN
The rapid progress in AI raises not only technical but also fundamental philosophical questions. The most important of these is phenomenal consciousness.
Phenomenal consciousness means "how something feels"; that is, it refers to the quality of human subjective experiences: feeling heat, feeling pain, or perceiving the color blue.
In this discussion, AI expert Ray Kurzweil makes some pretty radical claims based on his vision of the singularity.
PHILOSOPHICAL DEADLOCK
In philosophy, phenomenal consciousness is still considered the "Hard Problem". While today's AI excels in functional tasks such as computation, image recognition, and language generation, it does not involve subjective experience or qualitative sensations.
Critics argue that no matter how advanced a machine is, it will only produce a functional imitation of intelligence, but not truly conscious.
AI AND UNIQUENESS
Ray Kurzweil, whose technological predictions are often correct, creates a wide area of discussion around the world. According to him, the singularity will occur in 2045: Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) will exceed all human cognitive capacity.
According to Kurzweil, AI will not only surpass human cognitive functions, but will also be able to form the basis of subjective experience; that is, he will be able to have phenomenal consciousness.
Kurzweil suggests that when machines reach a level of integration similar to the human brain, the distinction between function and experience will disappear.
BIOLOGICAL-ARTIFICIAL INTEGRATION
Kurzweil also describes the 'singularity' as a period in which man and machine will integrate. Through nanobots to be implanted in the brain, the human mind will be directly connected to AI. In such a scenario, the distinction between human and AI consciousness would blur.
In this case, the question of whether AI has a phenomenal consciousness becomes even more urgent.
SERIOUS QUESTIONS RAISED BY SINGLENESS
If Kurzweil's claims materialize and AI achieves phenomenal consciousness, crucial questions will arise:
- Should a machine with truly subjective experience have individual rights, such as the right not to suffer or the right to life?
- If a machine becomes truly capable of feeling and thinking, what would be the position of man in the universe?
The debate on AI and phenomenal consciousness is not only an academic issue but also pivotal for the ethical and political design of future AI systems.
If technology moves in the direction Kurzweil envisions, we will have to answer these questions much sooner. Or perhaps the technology Kurzweil envisions will give birth to just this kind of AI.
'Digital brain' breaks new ground in science, challenges ethical framework
The Blue Brain Project, launched in Switzerland, revolutionized neurological disease research by creating a digital replica of the human brain, while raising important ethical questions.
HÊVÎ BAKUR
ANF NEWS CENTER
Friday, November 21, 2025
The Blue Brain Project (BBP) was implemented in 2005 by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne under the leadership of Prof. Henry Markram. The strategic goal of the project was to build from scratch a biologically highly detailed and realistic digital simulation of the brain, especially the cortex, using supercomputers.
In line with this goal, the team aimed not only to replicate the living brain, but also to unravel the mechanisms of consciousness, memory and movement arising from the interaction of millions of neurons. Over the years of work, extensive electrical and anatomical data have been collected; This data was processed with the power of supercomputers and advanced algorithms and transformed into detailed brain models. Each neuron was individually simulated to give realistic electrical responses, and then a neural network structure was created that mimicked the rules of connectivity in the living brain.
The most important turning point of the project came in 2015. BBP researchers announced that a completely digital copy of the neocortical column, one of the basic building blocks of the brain, has been successfully produced. The model included approximately 31 thousand neurons and 37 million synapses.
Although the BBP announced the completion of its first phase at the end of 2024, its impact on the scientific world is permanent. The simulations developed within the scope of the project are used today to test the effects of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and epilepsy on neural networks without the need for animal experiments. In this respect, BBP started a new era in neurological disease research ethically and scientifically.
NEW SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES
The project showed that the human brain works based on multidimensional and transformational combined structures. This finding, made using Algebraic Topology, is considered one of the most revolutionary discoveries ever made regarding the holistic organization of neural activity.
Today, BBP data creates a Scientific Brain Atlas accessible to global researchers and contributes to the rapid advancement of neuroscience studies. The project also proved that holistic brain modeling is technically possible, laying a solid foundation in the field of computational neuroscience.
ETHICAL DEBATES AND AI CONCERNS
In addition to its scientific innovation, the Blue Brain Project has also raised important ethical questions. Criticisms are focused on the fact that digital reproduction of all functions of the human brain may open the door to controversial areas such as consciousness simulation in the long term. Some experts say that such detailed imitation of biological processes could create new ethical dilemmas over the rights of "digital consciousness," "artificial systems capable of feeling," or human-like cognitive models. Additionally, concerns about the privacy of neurological data, potential misuse risks by governments or corporations, and the potential use of advanced brain simulations for military purposes are among the international discussions. For this reason, the project is seen as a scientific revolution and at the same time a field that forces to redefine the ethical framework of the future.
ANF NEWS CENTER
Friday, November 21, 2025
The Blue Brain Project (BBP) was implemented in 2005 by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne under the leadership of Prof. Henry Markram. The strategic goal of the project was to build from scratch a biologically highly detailed and realistic digital simulation of the brain, especially the cortex, using supercomputers.
In line with this goal, the team aimed not only to replicate the living brain, but also to unravel the mechanisms of consciousness, memory and movement arising from the interaction of millions of neurons. Over the years of work, extensive electrical and anatomical data have been collected; This data was processed with the power of supercomputers and advanced algorithms and transformed into detailed brain models. Each neuron was individually simulated to give realistic electrical responses, and then a neural network structure was created that mimicked the rules of connectivity in the living brain.
The most important turning point of the project came in 2015. BBP researchers announced that a completely digital copy of the neocortical column, one of the basic building blocks of the brain, has been successfully produced. The model included approximately 31 thousand neurons and 37 million synapses.
Although the BBP announced the completion of its first phase at the end of 2024, its impact on the scientific world is permanent. The simulations developed within the scope of the project are used today to test the effects of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and epilepsy on neural networks without the need for animal experiments. In this respect, BBP started a new era in neurological disease research ethically and scientifically.
NEW SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES
The project showed that the human brain works based on multidimensional and transformational combined structures. This finding, made using Algebraic Topology, is considered one of the most revolutionary discoveries ever made regarding the holistic organization of neural activity.
Today, BBP data creates a Scientific Brain Atlas accessible to global researchers and contributes to the rapid advancement of neuroscience studies. The project also proved that holistic brain modeling is technically possible, laying a solid foundation in the field of computational neuroscience.
ETHICAL DEBATES AND AI CONCERNS
In addition to its scientific innovation, the Blue Brain Project has also raised important ethical questions. Criticisms are focused on the fact that digital reproduction of all functions of the human brain may open the door to controversial areas such as consciousness simulation in the long term. Some experts say that such detailed imitation of biological processes could create new ethical dilemmas over the rights of "digital consciousness," "artificial systems capable of feeling," or human-like cognitive models. Additionally, concerns about the privacy of neurological data, potential misuse risks by governments or corporations, and the potential use of advanced brain simulations for military purposes are among the international discussions. For this reason, the project is seen as a scientific revolution and at the same time a field that forces to redefine the ethical framework of the future.
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