Dr. Peyton McElroy, a philosophy and biology professor here at the University of South Alabama, presented a discussion on Sept. 5, exploring the potential effects of AI, and whether or not generative intelligence has the ability to develop consciousness in the future.

The National Library of Medicine’s Frankenstein exhibit draws a connection between Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel and the concern held today for the future of humanity in terms of generative AI. On the cusp of the scientific revolution, at a time of a weakening sense of religiosity, many scientists began toying with the idea of galvanism: that life could be created through electric currents. Frankenstein’s monster foreshadowed the technology and ethics being called into question today with developments like the Boston Dynamics robot Atlas, Hanson Robotics’ Sophia, language processing, image and video generation, medical diagnoses and much more technology used on a daily basis.

Through explaining four theories of mind, Dr. McElroy illustrated the ethical concerns held by many scientists today who work closely with artificial intelligence. In a “60 Minutes” interview shown at the event, Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, who is known as the “Godfather of AI,” reported that he believes these systems have experiences of their own and can make decisions based on those experiences “in the same sense as people do.” When asked if these systems are conscious, Hinton remarked that while he doesn’t believe there is much awareness in the present, “there will be in time.” Hinton left Google in 2023 to “speak freely” about artificial intelligence, according to the “60 Minutes” interview.

After the video clip ended, McElroy asked the crowd, “How can someone who created AI and knows what it is from the inside say that there is a consciousness?” The philosophy of mind has been long studied by theorists worldwide, and McElroy further stated that scientists like Geoffrey Hinton have begun developing the idea that maybe a mind is not “merely blood and tissue,” but anything that can accomplish the activity of a brain. The discussion concluded with McElroy sharing a string of concerns regarding the development of artificial intelligence and its relation to humans.

The development of artificial intelligence raises many concerns for humans: we don’t want to be replaced as a species, but it also raises ethical concerns for the new intellect that is being created. “If we as humans were able to create an artificial class of sentient creatures (or people), wouldn’t we have a moral responsibility over them?” asked McElroy. “Is it even our place to manufacture something capable of experiencing and/or creating pain, anger, and destruction?” This is the precise question raised by Mary Shelley over 200 years ago. Whether you think AI will end the world or save it, it is here to stay, and McElroy’s questions will have to be answered in the near future. Hopefully our scientific endeavors turn out better than Victor Frankenstein’s did!

More Information on the Frankenstein Exhibit can be found on the National Library of Medicine’s website.