What is it about?
The quest to understand consciousness, once the purview of philosophers and theologians, is now actively pursued by scientists of many stripes. This paper studies consciousness from the perspective of Theoretical Computer Science (TCS), a branch of mathematics concerned with understanding the underlying principles of computation and complexity including the implications of resource limitations. It demonstrates how the TCS perspective and insights can contribute to the understanding of consciousness and related concepts, such as free will. In the spirit of TCS, the paper defines a simple theoretical model, the Conscious Turing Machine (CTM) that melds Cognitive Neuroscience with Computer Science, and provides a framework for a conscious AI.
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Why is it important?
This paper provides evidence that a theoretical computer science (TCS) perspective can add to our understanding of consciousness. It also provides a framework for building a conscious AI
Perspectives
As a mathematician and theoretical computer scientist, I look for simple underlying principles. This approach helps me understand intricate and complex concepts. Consciousness is a case in point, where philosophical theories of consciousness can seem impenetrable and the growing neuroscience literature overwhelming. Our simple framework for machine consciousness, the Conscious Turing Machine (CTM), besides presenting our views of consciousness fundamentals, provides a scaffolding to organize, understand, and compare more complicated frameworks and theories.
Lenore Blum
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: A theory of consciousness from a theoretical computer science perspective: Insights from the Conscious Turing Machine, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, May 2022, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2115934119.
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