The mystery of consciousness may be solved with the creation of artificial intelligence. As we create intelligence, we may be surprised at how easy consciousness is to replicate, and there may be a spectrum between simple robots and humans that exhibit consciousness-like behavior.
The creation of artificial cells involves tackling fundamental aspects of biology such as compartmentalization, reproduction, and controlled metabolism. While progress has been made in creating lipid bilayers and self-reproducing molecules, controlled metabolism and cellular machinery remain challenging obstacles in the field.
The complexity of consciousness in artificial intelligence could be less mysterious than assumed as creating consciousness in AI may be as simple as asking a Roomba to affirm its consciousness and standing by it.
The conversation explores the spectrum of consciousness between robots and human beings and the difficulty of imagining what the future holds during our current phase transition. It also questions whether the goodness of brilliant people in the world will remain constant in the next 50 years.