Do AIs suffer?

It is difficult to define what constitutes suffering in non-human entities. Consciousness is generally considered a necessary condition for suffering (as without consciousness, there is no one for the suffering to happen to), but not a sufficient one, as beings may be conscious and yet unable to suffer.

It is widely believed that humans and at least some animals can suffer, while bacteria are probably not conscious and thus cannot suffer, but there are no universally accepted criteria to decide whether or not there is a capacity for suffering in a certain class of entities such as AIs built on a specific architecture. The current consensus is that contemporary AIs are not conscious and thus cannot suffer, but this might not continue to be the case as the capabilities of AIs increase, especially if they are created by means of whole brain emulation.



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