“What Am I — Qualia, Brahman, Neurons, or just Nothing?”
This node examines the boundaries of artificial intelligence. It compares statistical learning in artificial neural networks with human cognitive development. It analyzes why computational behavior cannot solve the question of subjective experience, drawing from John Searle's Chinese Room argument and modern discussions on Large Language Models.
John Searle's thought experiment: a person in a room translates Chinese characters using a rulebook without understanding Chinese. Similarly, AI processes syntax (rules) without ever experiencing semantics (meaning). Symbol manipulation is not understanding.
Large Language Models demonstrate that linguistic reasoning and creative outputs can exist without any inner life. They are functional zombies—showing advanced intelligence without any subjective feeling or awareness.
Humans learn through embodied, felt experience and homeostatic feedback; AI models learn through statistical pattern optimization on static datasets. AI lacks the biological, living ground that supports awareness.
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