Sentient

In general, sentient refers to the capacity of an entity to perceive and undergo sensations and emotions. It means being aware of one's surroundings, feelings, and thoughts; consciousness. Sentient beings can interpret subjective experiences like pleasure, happiness, sadness, and pain.

Sentience came from the Latin word for feeling (sentiens) to distinguish between emotions and the capacity to think or reason. Today, sentience distinguishes beings with subjective experiences from those that can only process information. In computer science, sentience is often a subject of discussion with ethics and moral considerations involving the rights and treatment of AI (artificial intelligence).

Concerns around sentient AI

While there are many benefits associated with AI technology, some people have voiced concerns about potential dangers with sentient AI. Although fiction, the AI system called Skynet in the Terminator movies is a sentience that concerned people. The reason for worry is that an AI system with this capacity may view humans as a threat to its existence and Earth, its home. With sentience, self-preservation could cause AI to eliminate humanity.

Proponents of AI argue that developers and engineers can prevent the potential negative impacts of sentience with appropriate programming. However, the counter-argument is that, if it attains sentience, AI could change its own programming and become a threat.

In March 2023, over 1000 tech experts and leaders, including Elon Musk, called for a temporary pause on AI development to examine and evaluate the direction of AI. They stated their concerns about its rapid development, the need to understand where development is headed, and how best to move forward.

Artificial intelligence terms, Electronics terms, Programming terms, Robot