John Pickering Rejects AI Consciousness Claim, Urges 0 Doubt About Systems Like Claude
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 22
John Pickering Rejects AI Consciousness Claim, Urges 0 Doubt About Systems Like Claude
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 22
Summary
Dr. John Pickering argued AI systems such as Claude cannot become conscious and said leading researchers should reject the idea outright rather than express uncertainty.
Claude’s ability to simulate experience does not mean it has experience, he wrote, comparing AI to a washing machine and arguing such systems are simply not the kind of thing that can be conscious.
The letter directly rebuts Anil Seth’s July 15 commentary, which warned against overestimating AI but framed machine consciousness as a question for doubt rather than firm dismissal.
Pickering still called Claude useful when used well, drawing a line between practical value and any claim that artificial systems possess subjective experience.