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Reposted by Murray Shanahan

Sigal Samuel @sigalsamuel.bsky.social · 9d

I get lots of emails from people who believe they've awoken consciousness within ChatGPT. If you come across anyone in that situation, please share this guide I wrote with them.

There's something more interesting going on here than just "delusional people are deluded."

www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Think your AI chatbot has become conscious? Here’s what to do.

If you believe there’s a soul trapped inside ChatGPT, I have good news for you.

www.vox.com

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Reposted by Murray Shanahan

David P. Reichert @david-p-reichert.bsky.social · 9d

Can only biological organisms ever be conscious?

Yes, argues @anilseth.bsky.social in a recent paper on biological naturalism.

I'm less convinced, and have written an in-depth response in a blog post here:

davidpreichert.substack.com/p/is-biology-necessary-for-consciousness

Is biology necessary for consciousness? A response to Seth's paper on biological naturalism

In this post, I explain why I think that Anil Seth’s recent paper does not make a convincing argument that phenomenal consciousness is inherently biological and that therefore artificial intelligence ...

davidpreichert.substack.com

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Murray Shanahan @mpshanahan.bsky.social · Aug 28

For more discussion of the "profoundly alien forms of consciousness" alluded to by @birchlse.bsky.social see here: arxiv.org/abs/2503.16348

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Murray Shanahan @mpshanahan.bsky.social · Aug 28

Important work from @birchlse.bsky.social

Jonathan Birch @birchlse.bsky.social · Aug 28

Here is "AI Consciousness: A Centrist Manifesto". I've been working on this feverishly because the issue seems to me so urgent - and I'm worried extreme positions on both sides are becoming locked in, when the best way forward is in the centre. Please read it! philpapers.org/rec/BIRACA-4

The abstract of "AI Consciousness: A Centrist Manifesto", available at the posted link.

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Murray Shanahan @mpshanahan.bsky.social · Aug 28

Highly recommended read

Christoph Heilig @christophheilig.bsky.social · Aug 26

Here is my full analysis: www.christoph-heilig.de/en/post/gpt-...

I do this kind of research as part of my scholarship at the @badw.de .

GPT-5 Is a Terrible Storyteller – And That's an AI Safety Problem

Lots of things have gone wrong with the rollout of GPT-5. However, most of the things that have been noted so far have to do with how the new model and its versions are integrated into ChatGPT. As tru...

www.christoph-heilig.de

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Reposted by Murray Shanahan

Christoph Heilig @christophheilig.bsky.social · Aug 26

1/8 🧵 GPT-5's storytelling problems reveal a deeper AI safety issue. I've been testing its creative writing capabilities, and the results are concerning - not just for literature, but for AI development more broadly. 🚨

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Murray Shanahan @mpshanahan.bsky.social · Aug 26

Not me, but I guess that's a fundamental issue that Buddhism itself addresses

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Murray Shanahan @mpshanahan.bsky.social · Aug 26

Frontiers in Gaslighting could be a whole new journal.

Tomer Ullman @tomerullman.bsky.social · Aug 19

trying this with GPT-5 and charting new frontiers in gaslighting

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Murray Shanahan @mpshanahan.bsky.social · Aug 26

FYI - www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~mpsha/Shana...

www.doc.ic.ac.uk

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Reposted by Murray Shanahan

🎃 🧟 Prof. Dr Beth Singler 👻 🎃 @bvlsingler.bsky.social · Aug 22

New Job! Come and work with me! Hopefully towards a larger project!
jobs.uzh.ch/job-vacancie...

UZH: 2 PhD Candidate Positions in Research Project Strengthening Resilience and Well-Being in Adolescents through Religion-Related AI and Digital Resources

As part of the strategic orientation of the University of Zurich, the interdisciplinary University Research Priority Program (URPP) “Digital Religion(s)” is investigating from 2021 to 2032 how current...

jobs.uzh.ch

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Murray Shanahan @mpshanahan.bsky.social · Aug 26

Somehow we missed this paper in ours. We will be sure to cite it in future revisions.

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Murray Shanahan @mpshanahan.bsky.social · Aug 14

How does that song go? "You're so vain, you probably think this paper's about you" 🙂

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Murray Shanahan @mpshanahan.bsky.social · Aug 14

"I'm writing an article on AI professors" 😬

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Murray Shanahan @mpshanahan.bsky.social · Aug 13

Ah, but unlike human priests, some modern professors are indeed cumbersome and prone to over-heating

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Murray Shanahan @mpshanahan.bsky.social · Aug 4

For most student assignments, using AI is like taking a forklift to the gym. What's the point? (Forklifts are useful, though, and being able to drive one is a useful skill.)

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Reposted by Murray Shanahan

Helen Macdonald @hjm.bsky.social · Aug 2

A couple of things about PROPHET, the book that @sinblache.bsky.social and I wrote during the pandemic, spurred by things people have asked me of late, because they intrigued me 1/

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Reposted by Murray Shanahan

Ron Chrisley @chrisley.bsky.social · Jul 31

Margaret Boden, giant of Cognitive Science and the Philosophy of AI, is one of the people whose lives will be remembered on BBC Radio 4’s Last Word programme tomorrow at 4pm UK time. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

BBC Radio 4 - Last Word, Dame Cleo Laine, Hulk Hogan, Margaret Boden, Tom Lehrer

Matthew Bannister on a singer, a wrestler, a cognitive scientist and a satirist.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Murray Shanahan @mpshanahan.bsky.social · Jul 25

Her "Artificial Intelligence and Natural Man" (1977) was an important early philosophical take on AI. "The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms" (1990) is a cornerstone of contemporary research in the field. Her introduction to Piaget (1979) was my introduction to Piaget.

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Murray Shanahan @mpshanahan.bsky.social · Jul 25

Very sad to learn of the death on 18th July of Margaret (Maggie) Boden, a titan of cognitive science and AI. I met her many times, and respected her greatly.
www.theargus.co.uk/memorials/de...

Maggie Boden and Murray Shanahan on a panel in 2018

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Reposted by Murray Shanahan

Grace @gracekind.net · Jul 23

Per Comsa and Shanahan, LLMs already do a type of "lightweight" introspection. What would a heavyweight version look like?

> New blog post: "Raising the Bar for LLM Introspection"

gracekind.net/blog/llmintr...

Raising the Bar for LLM Introspection • Grace Kind

In "Does It Make Sense to Speak of Introspection in Large Language Models?" Iulia M. Comsa and Murray Shanahan define a lightweight definition of introspection that can be applied to language models.

gracekind.net

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Murray Shanahan @mpshanahan.bsky.social · Jul 22

If you get drawn into a lengthy existential conversation with a chatbot, maybe think of it as a kind of fantasy role play, and don't lose touch with the reality outside your screen, the reality of the physical world and your fellow human beings. 4/4

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Murray Shanahan @mpshanahan.bsky.social · Jul 22

However, a good explanation for much of the sophisticated behaviour we see in today's chatbots is that they are role-playing. 3/4

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Murray Shanahan @mpshanahan.bsky.social · Jul 22

There are a great many open questions in the philosophy of mind, and there is little consensus on the topic of consciousness, particularly in the context of artificial intelligence. 2/4

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Murray Shanahan @mpshanahan.bsky.social · Jul 22

I receive a steady stream of emails from people who have had fascinating conversations with chatbots, especially about consciousness, philosophy, or AI. Apologies to the senders, but I don't have the capacity to respond to these emails. 1/4

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Reposted by Murray Shanahan

Anna Ciaunica @annaciaunica.bsky.social · Jul 9

Fantastic talk by Shanahan Murray @assc28.bsky.social

Sophisticated exotic title but pretty clear idea ! 👇🏼

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