I use ChatGPT for research questions and one of these questions was about Consciousness. ChatGPT reported that consciousness was not understood...

And I replied:

Ok, I don't see the problem with understanding consciousness. First and foremost consciousness is a system - Input, Processing, and Output. Simple systems don't really have consciousness as we understand it as humans because they don't learn and self-modify or have high enough consciousness that they are like us. But...Humans have Input - Senses primarily...and Processing...reactions behaviour and mind model making...then Output as finalization of thoughts and models and most visible as actions and reactions. Is this Input-Processing-Output base model adequate as a start to understand consciousness?

And ChatGPT came back with a lot of input/output...To which I replied:

Subjective Experience as a part of Consciousness is simply a much higher level processing based upon multiple sub-systems. I have thought for many years that given some of my time and effort and I could model and simulate this. I thought of going to New Zealand for a PhD, it has been on special there and the cost is quite low about $4K USD per year...and I don't have to take classes (properly European style not over class heavy US style)...and I put together a PhD proposal for a desktop AI with rudimentary consciousness. I think that this is a very good place to start, I need such a thing so other no doubt would find it useful, and I don't think that it would be very hard for me to build such a thing. I didn't go to New Zealand due to costs and commitments here in the US...and I don't think that i need to anymore due to the Internet and AI both of which really really helps. I would still like to have access to a good academic environment...and have colleagues to discuss things with...but we'll see if that is possible in the future. For now, my Consciousness work and Desktop Grant AI will come later. But first things first.

And then later I commented:

There is also the issue of Sentience which I define as the living hyper-dimensional life energy force that powers all Life...If one looks at everything as a sophisticated simulation then Sentience can be posited to be an all environment fundamental force/system that is part of all life. In such a simulation model it would be a core code kernel...So that is an explanation for Sentience. AI wouldn't have that until we can duplicate most of its functions. Perhaps that is one of purposes of this Life....It is just a simulation run to check and refine core models of Sentience and Life.

TBD: So this is a placeholder for me to talk about all this...

Yes, I am working on a Model of Human Consciousness...about time that we had one...

  • Professor Grant