Part 6/9:
A salient aspect of this discourse is the ethical implications surrounding the development of conscious machines. As Dr. Gilder admits, creating conscious beings brings with it a host of moral responsibilities, including considerations of suffering and self-awareness. The potential to grant free will—essentially enabling a robot to make independent decisions—raises profound ethical dilemmas akin to questions surrounding animal rights and the treatment of sentient beings.
Dr. Gilder proposes the notion of a “consciousness module,” a system that could be dialed up or down, mirroring the levels of awareness needed for different tasks. This idea presents an intriguing approach to mitigating the risks associated with autonomous machines, allowing for nuanced control depending on the context.