this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2026
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Does it do anything that isn't in response to a human's prompting? No? Then it can't be conscious. Consciousness requires having a sense of self, which implies having needs and desires that one acts to fulfill without needing prompting. Even a bacterium is more conscious than these things.
Nowhere in your unquoted definition do you state that the ‘sense of self’ must be present at all times. Humans can switch between conscious and unconscious states. When they’re unconscious they don’t have needs and desires.
tell that to the stains on my sheets, buddy.
But I don't do anything unless prompted by a human.
We don't really know that much about consciousness.