People are completely missing Richard’s point here. I’d like to think it’s because they read only until the paywall. He is not saying that LLMs are conscious. Instead he’s saying: 1. LLMs are deeply capable (this is true) 2. If LLMs are not conscious (they almost certainly aren’t) then they are ‘mindless zombies’ that approach/surpass humans in capability. Based on this, he asks: If capability can be mindless or conscious, why did the most intelligent creatures on this planet evolve consciousness, even though it’s not strictly necessary? It must have some inherent value, like the ability to feel pain. This is a pretty sound argument, and I’ll agree that consciousness adds value. The unsaid follow-up question is: Will machines at some point be conscious? Is that the next step in their evolution which will make them yet more capable and valuable? Will they at one point be able to perceive pain, the movement of time, and other elements we currently associate with consciousness? They can’t now, but if we look 10-100 years in the future it would not be ludicrous to believe that machines will be not only capable, but also conscious.