Is AI already conscious? A look at the spectrum of consciousness theory, and where AI may currently fall on that spectrum

We can build machines that recognize faces, translate languages, and beat grandmasters at chess. We can create artificial neural networks that mirror the structure of biological brains. We can even develop large language models that engage in conversations sophisticated enough to fool us into thinking something's really there. But here's what we can't do: we can't explain why any of this should feel like anything from the inside. This gap—between observable behavior and subje