[thomassmith65]

Oh no, to discuss this is to sound like a flake, but...

We don't know what consciousness is. But if we're materialists, then we - by definition - believe it's a property of matter.

If LLMs have a degree of consciousness, then - yes - calculators must possess some degree of consciousness too - probably much more basic (relative to what humans respect as consciousness).

And we humans already have ethical standards where we draw an arbitrary line between what is worthy of regard. We don't care about killing mosquitoes, but we do care about killing puppies, etc.

[barrkel]

Calculators may be conscious - I tend towards panpsychism myself - but because I tend towards panpsychism, I don't think arithmetic generates qualia, because the arithmetic is independent of the computing substrate.

I don't particularly want to get mystical (i.e. wondering which computing substrates, including neurons, actually generate qualia), but I cannot accept the consequences of mere arithmetic alone generating suffering. Or all mathematics is immoral.

[emp17344]

Hold on a minute - why do we have to be materialists? Maybe this whole debate is revealing that materialism is misguided.

[thomassmith65]

True, if the reader isn't materialist, then my arguments are probably irrelevant!