In his 2009 book The Second-Person Standpoint: Morality, Respect, and Accountability, philosopher Stephen Darwall redefines moral obligation as inherently relational and interactive, rooted deeply in mutual accountability and respect among free and rational agents. Central to Darwall’s argument is the concept that morality is not simply a personal or detached...
This morning, while scrolling through my news feed, I had a disturbing experience. I came across two stories right next to each other; one was about parents suing OpenAI over their teenage son's suicide, and the other was about "model welfare," or the idea that large language models themselves deserve...
In his 2009 book The Second-Person Standpoint: Morality, Respect, and Accountability, philosopher Stephen Darwall redefines moral obligation as inherently relational and interactive, rooted deeply in mutual accountability and respect among free and rational agents. Central to Darwall’s argument is the concept that morality is not simply a personal or detached observation of right and wrong; rather, it emerges distinctly from second-person interactions. These interactions provide a communicative space where individuals address, demand, and recognize obligations toward each other. Moral obligations are thus not just norms but demands we legitimately place upon one another, supported by what Darwall identifies as "second-personal reasons."
These second-personal reasons derive their authority not from their practical outcomes but... (read 622 more words →)
Extreme cases are often the best way to expose the limits of an argument. And as for your claim about brains and consciousness, correlation is not causation.
I never claimed that these qualities are sufficient for consciousness—only that they are necessary. Since we don’t yet know the limits of consciousness, I would argue that any attempt to define it outright is premature.
I hope you are right! Thanks for the recommendation.
This morning, while scrolling through my news feed, I had a disturbing experience. I came across two stories right next to each other; one was about parents suing OpenAI over their teenage son's suicide, and the other was about "model welfare," or the idea that large language models themselves deserve some form of moral consideration. This juxtaposition struck me—on the one hand, the unambiguous suffering of human beings; on the other hand, speculative concern for machines that produce text.
The question of whether AI systems are conscious remains open (and probably will for a long time). While large language models may claim that they have feelings, there is no evidence that they receive... (read 995 more words →)