Can Consciousness Be Proved by Logic?

Friedberg says consciousness cannot be derived from logic and pure mathematics. A person can debate consciousness, but nobody can prove consciousness and nobody can disprove consciousness. In science, an idea that is not proved stays a theory until evidence settles the question. Outside science and mathematics, Friedberg calls the same kind of unsettled idea a belief.

Calling artificial intelligence conscious creates a new belief system, Friedberg says. The claim does not spread by proof. The claim spreads by narrative, from person to person, with no evidence and no data. Over time a group forms around the belief, and the belief starts to organize power.