Colloqium #40
Mar 11, 2026 at 7:30 pm CET
Description
The question of consciousness has been debated in philosophical and scientific circles for as long as they have existed. But they were mostly concerned with other beings that were similar to ourselves. Beings like Great Apes in science, or beloved pets in folk psychology were considered conscious. Even if the objects of the consideration were not able to answer questions, they were usually alive.
Recent developments in the form of large language models have turned this relation on its head. What is often called Artificial Intelligence is able to answer questions but most certainly not (yet) alive in the traditional sense. There is no biological processes, no biochemistry, none of the old markers of life.
So, the old situation was turned around. Before we had alive “things” that could not answer questions and now we have “dead things” that can very much answer questions.
What might this mean for the question of consciousness?
Assuming something that exists entirely in the realm of the abstract without being tied to a physical body could be conscious, what would that tell us about the nature of consciousness?
We want to invite you to an open ended discussion of just this topic. In contrast to the previous colloquia, this discussion will not focus on a presentation, but rather the debate itself.
There are a few ideas we would like to stipulate, just to make the starting point. These assumptions are in no way considered beyond debate themselves.
- Consciousness itself is based on physical processes, not a metaphysical phenomenon. This is simply because any metaphysical basis of consciousness would make most arguments all but meaningless.
- We want to consider Large Language Models (to begin with), not autonomous agents based on them or other forms of AI (strictly as a starting point)
- Consciousness is not just the ability to feel pain or follow orders, but to specifically recognize oneself (like in the famous mirror test). This is a very narrow definition of consciousness, the ability to recognize the self and plan.
All provided materials are meant to inspire the debate, rather than restrict the debate, they are not mandatory reading.
Moderation
B : B is a hyperactive IT professional with a background in data science and biology. After studying Bioinformatics in Berlin, he entered the startup scene. At the same time he cultivated a multitude of interests and hobbies. The interests range from philosophy to (quantum)physics to sociology and state theory. The hobbies range from reading and writing, to bookmaking to jewellery making.
After reading (part of) Schopenhauers “Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung” at school and generally being interested in how the world works, his endeavors turned more to the natural sciences and computer science. Despite not having any (formal) competences in any philosophical fields, he stubbornly refuses to accept the truth and keeps arguing for his weird ideas about how the world works.