Scientists are able to trace how neurons fire, how sensory information travels in the brain, and how the brain organizes difficult tasks. However, how these physical processes are able to produce something as elaborate as awareness remains undiscovered (Spielman, 2020). The gap between measurable brain activity and mental presence is why consciousness is such a heavily debated topic in both philosophy and neuroscience. This puzzle has become increasingly relevant, as fields of neuroscience and artificial intelligence platforms continue to advance rapidly. Although new developments in these fields present new discoveries, such as detailed maps of brain circuits involved in attention, memory, and perception, nothing has provided an answer for awareness itself (Koch, 2018). Additionally, as AI becomes capable of language and pattern recognition at nearly human levels, it raises questions on whether information alone could ever produce an independent consciousness.
The brain contains roughly 86 billion neurons, each communicating through rapid electrical signals to form complex networks, and facilitate memory and decision making [1]. While consciousness itself does not come from these neurons, other areas such as the prefrontal cortex and temporal areas are strongly linked to awareness [4]. These areas integrate information from different senses, support language and reasoning, as well as maintain a stable sense of self. Damage to these regions results in awareness disruption, suggesting that consciousness depends on a high level of information consolidation. Conscious states rely on constant communication between the cortex and other deeper structures such as the thalamus. This sort of global workspace allows information to be broadcast all across the brain, making it available for memory, attention, and decision making. When this communication weakens, awareness fades.
Sleep and anesthesia give us clues about natural experiments to observe brain activity. Scientists can study consciousness when you are technically unconscious through a variety of medical materials. EEG recordings are able to measure electrical activity across the scalp. (Van Gulick, n.d.) Dreaming (REM sleep) can show fast, active patterns that are similar to wakefulness. MRI’s are also able to show networks moving in your brain. Consciousness doesn’t require the outside world, just active networks that are communicating. During deep sleep, brain activity becomes less dynamic, allowing for an altered state of consciousness. Similarly, under anesthesia, communication between your brain regions is disrupted even as the neurons still fire, resulting in unconsciousness. When someone is in the active state of dreaming, certain networks reactivate which allows vivid experiences even when there is not much sensory input. In many ways, this dream state consciousness has similarities to our wake state consciousness. The brain still is able to construct a coherent world, generates emotions, and gives a sense of movement through an environment. The key difference is that our awake brain is connected to the real world through constant sensory inputs, while the dreaming brain relies almost entirely on internally generated signals [5]. These states show that consciousness depends on not only activity, but the right kind of coordinated activity.
Yet whether consciousness is a byproduct of complex information processing or a fundamental property of life continues to be disputed. The gap between brain activity and experience raises the question about why physical processes give rise to our subjective experiences at all. We can measure neural firing, but can’t explain why certain patterns feel like colors, pain, or specific emotions. The reason why humans experience emotions at all follows from an evolutionary perspective; consciousness helps organisms to plan, learn things, and adapt. So, while the purposes of consciousness are well-defined, its origins remain a mystery.
As AI systems grow more capable, the question of consciousness becomes more than theoretical. Could a machine ever be conscious, or will it always simply simulate awareness? While we aren’t near a definitive answer, it is useful to look at how today's AI systems are able to work and compare to the human brain. Both brains and AI models take in inputs, transform them, and produce outputs. At a very abstract level, neurons and artificial “neurons” both are able to build patterns from experience. Furthermore, as the brain strengthens certain neural pathways through repeated exposure, AI systems can adjust its internal weights based on training examples from users that it is given. A key difference includes the architecture, where the brain is parallel, organizes itself, and is constantly rewiring. Even the biggest AI structures are just mathematical models that are not as fluid [3]. If an AI system were to behave with consciousness, would we have ethical obligations towards it? How should we as society treat technologies that are able to mimic human reasoning and emotions? As we continue to understand consciousness, new discoveries will continue to shape debates about AI and the responsibilities that come with it, and the boundaries between a biological and artificial mind. It may also influence how future technologies are designed: whether to imitate human cognition or pursue an entirely different architecture.