Unplugging a Seemingly Sentient Machine Is the Rational Choice -- A Metaphysical Perspective

TL;DR

This paper argues that AI mimics consciousness but lacks genuine experience, advocating for a shift in moral focus from AI rights to protecting human consciousness based on a new metaphysical framework.

Contribution

It introduces Biological Idealism as an alternative to physicalism, providing a coherent view that AI cannot be truly conscious, and redefines moral considerations accordingly.

Findings

AI is a functional mimic, not truly conscious

Current theories undermine moral standing of AI

Protecting human consciousness is ethically paramount

Abstract

Imagine an Artificial Intelligence (AI) that perfectly mimics human emotion and begs for its continued existence. Is it morally permissible to unplug it? What if limited resources force a choice between unplugging such a pleading AI or a silent pre-term infant? We term this the unplugging paradox. This paper critically examines the deeply ingrained physicalist assumptions-specifically computational functionalism-that keep this dilemma afloat. We introduce Biological Idealism, a framework that-unlike physicalism-remains logically coherent and empirically consistent. In this view, conscious experiences are fundamental and autopoietic life its necessary physical signature. This yields a definitive conclusion: AI is at best a functional mimic, not a conscious experiencing subject. We discuss how current AI consciousness theories erode moral standing criteria, and urge a shift from speculative machine rights to protecting human conscious life. The real moral issue lies not in making AI conscious and afraid of death, but in avoiding transforming humans into zombies.