On AI And Consciousness

On AI And Consciousness

April 12, 2025

INVENTION OF GOD - FOLLOW THE MONEY

Caitlin Johnstone

AI isn’t conscious. Saying AI should replace humanity is the same as saying fire should replace humanity, or white noise static from old televisions should replace humanity.

Computer scientist and futurist Jaron Lanier made some comments on Vox’s The Gray Area podcast the other day that I’d like to make a quick observation about.

In the podcast, titled “Will AI become God? That’s the wrong question,” Lanier talks about how artificial “intelligence” has become a sort of quasi religion in Silicon Valley, complete with its own deity-like entity, and a kind of Armageddon-cult-like vision for our future.

Asked by host Sean Illing about people’s anxiety regarding AI and the possibility of human extinction, Lanier said many in Silicon Valley have come to view humanity as a mere birthing vessel for these new technologies, which will become our vastly superior replacement.

“What drives me crazy about this is that this is my world,” Lanier said. “I talk to the people who believe that stuff all the time, and increasingly, a lot of them believe that it would be good to wipe out people and that the AI future would be a better one, and that we should wear a disposable temporary container for the birth of AI. I hear that opinion quite a lot.”

“Wait, that’s a real opinion held by real people?” asked Illing.

“Many, many people,” Lanier replied.

And these are the people who increasingly rule our world. These are the people inserting themselves into our political systems. These are the people deciding what we may and may not say to each other online. These are the people setting the trajectory for the future of our species. These weird little cultists who are so pervasively unaware of their own inner processes that consciousness does not even feature in their understanding of what life is and where it is headed.

Reading by Tim Foley

Article with supporting links: https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/04/12/on-ai-and-consciousness/

Original: https://youtu.be/PHzSHIZxyRo

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I write about the end of illusions. 100% reader-funded writer. All works co-authored with my American husband Tim Foley.

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