Can Computers overcome Humans? Consciousness interaction and its implications

TL;DR

This paper explores whether computers can surpass human capabilities through consciousness, arguing that consciousness introduces limitations that prevent machines from truly overcoming humans, thus challenging assumptions about machine superiority.

Contribution

It provides a critical analysis of the role of consciousness in machines and argues that conscious computers cannot definitively surpass human abilities due to inherent limitations.

Findings

Consciousness affects information processing in machines.

Computers cannot fully overcome human capabilities if they are conscious.

Surpassing humans with computers implies they are no longer true computers.

Abstract

Can computers overcome human capabilities? This is a paradoxical and controversial question, particularly because there are many hidden assumptions. This article focuses on that issue putting on evidence some misconception related with future generations of machines and the understanding of the brain. It will be discussed to what extent computers might reach human capabilities, and how it could be possible only if the computer is a conscious machine. However, it will be shown that if the computer is conscious, an interference process due to consciousness would affect the information processing of the system. Therefore, it might be possible to make conscious machines to overcome human capabilities, which will have limitations as well as humans. In other words, trying to overcome human capabilities with computers implies the paradoxical conclusion that a computer will never overcome human capabilities at all, or if the computer does, it should not be considered as a computer anymore.