Questioning the Moratorium on Synthetic Phenomenology

Abstract

In a paper published in 2021, Thomas Metzinger proposed a global moratorium on development of synthetic phenomenology, with this beginning in 2021 and lasting until 2050, arguing that the development of conscious artifacts would bring about an explosion of human-like suffering on a global scale. The paper argues that Thomas Metzinger’s call for a global moratorium is unsound as it is currently formulated. Metzinger’s argument is based on a category error, a common mistake in AI discussions. For the sake of clarity in AI discourse, and for reasons explained in the paper, such an error should be at least pointed out, if not corrected. This is the primary purpose of the paper. However, Metzinger’s proposal, can be taken as a generic warning against uncontrolled development of AI – the position we fully agree with.

Keywords

• synthetic consciousness
• moratorium on synthetic phenomenology
• synthetic suffering
• category mistake
• cognitive equivalence
• thomas metzinger