This week we will discuss consciousness and artificial intelligence.  Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chukkEeGrLM Now read this article:  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/will-machines-ever-become-conscious/ Using these two sources as well as your readings for this week to support your discussion, do you think robots will ever achieve consciousness in the same sense that humans are conscious? Why or why not? Should scientists be trying to achieve the goal of consciousness in machines? What are some ethical issues one might consider when arguing for or against the achievement of conscious robots? Classmate post 1: Do you think robots will ever achieve consciousness in the same sense that humans are conscious? Why or why not? I think it is hard to tell whether or not AI will ever achieve consciousness because as humans we are prone to anthropomorphizing things and we cannot truly be sure whether or not the appearance of sentience in AI is just a “clever illusion,” at least as of now. I was watching a video about how one of the Google employees testing its LaMDA AI believed it had achieved sentience, and reading the transcript of the conversation between him and the AI was incredibly eerie and the AI certainly gave the appearance of being sentient. One thing I know is that people trying to figure out whether or not an AI has achieved consciousness will teach us a lot about human consciousness itself and how to define it, as we ourselves still can’t fully understand it. Should scientists be trying to achieve the goal of consciousness in machines? What are some ethical issues one might consider when arguing for or against the achievement of conscious robots? I think it would be very cool to be able to one day talk to a robot that has achieved consciousness, but I have to also think about whether it would be a good thing for humanity. I think if we intend to have machines and AI work alongside us and help us, it would be best to avoid trying to recreate consciousness in them. I think it would only cause issues with them fulfilling their actual purpose if humans come to see them as too similar to themselves and as having emotions and feelings; we would naturally be prone to becoming attached to them and could be easily manipulated by an AI with ill intentions. It would also raise some serious ethical issues in my opinion, as if an AI/robot is truly sentient and capable of human emotion, should we then treat them as human? Would shutting down a sentient AI be the same thing as murder? Can a sentient robot experience emotional trauma? This is a slippery slope, but I think that it is one we will have to deal with since scientists will likely only continue to seek to achieve AI consciousness. Classmate post 2: Humans are continually surprised and inspired by technological advancements since they make our daily life easier. Yes, it makes life simpler and more smooth. Humans are aware that our capacity for reas.

1. This week we will discuss consciousness and artificial
intelligence. Watch this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chukkEeGrLM
Now read this article:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/will-
machines-ever-become-conscious/
Using these two sources as well as your readings for this week
to support your discussion, do you think robots will ever
achieve consciousness in the same sense that humans are
conscious? Why or why not? Should scientists be trying to
achieve the goal of consciousness in machines? What are some
ethical issues one might consider when arguing for or against
the achievement of conscious robots?
Classmate post 1:
Do you think robots will ever achieve consciousness in the same
sense that humans are conscious? Why or why not?
I think it is hard to tell whether or not AI will ever achieve
consciousness because as humans we are prone to
anthropomorphizing things and we cannot truly be sure whether
or not the appearance of sentience in AI is just a “clever
illusion,” at least as of now. I was watching a video about how
one of the Google employees testing its LaMDA AI believed it
had achieved sentience, and reading the transcript of the
conversation between him and the AI was incredibly eerie and
the AI certainly gave the appearance of being sentient. One
thing I know is that people trying to figure out whether or not
an AI has achieved consciousness will teach us a lot about
human consciousness itself and how to define it, as we
ourselves still can’t fully understand it.
Should scientists be trying to achieve the goal of consciousness
in machines? What are some ethical issues one might consider

2. when arguing for or against the achievement of conscious
robots?
I think it would be very cool to be able to one day talk to a
robot that has achieved consciousness, but I have to also think
about whether it would be a good thing for humanity. I think if
we intend to have machines and AI work alongside us and help
us, it would be best to avoid trying to recreate consciousness in
them. I think it would only cause issues with them fulfilling
their actual purpose if humans come to see them as too similar
to themselves and as having emotions and feelings; we would
naturally be prone to becoming attached to them and could be
easily manipulated by an AI with ill intentions. It would also
raise some serious ethical issues in my opinion, as if an
AI/robot is truly sentient and capable of human emotion, should
we then treat them as human? Would shutting down a sentient
AI be the same thing as murder? Can a sentient robot experience
emotional trauma? This is a slippery slope, but I think that it is
one we will have to deal with since scientists will likely only
continue to seek to achieve AI consciousness.
Classmate post 2:
Humans are continually surprised and inspired by technological
advancements since they make our daily life easier. Yes, it
makes life simpler and more smooth. Humans are aware that our
capacity for reasoning and awareness of our surroundings gives
us an advantage over these "smart machines." But as AI or
artificial intelligences proliferate, it forces us to consider if it is
ethical and possible for these robots to have the same
consciousness as humans.
According to the readings and references at hand, it seems
too soon to determine whether or not robots would ever develop
a feeling of consciousness among themselves. Nevertheless, as
change is unavoidable, there may be opportunities for it to
develop. Hod Lipson, a roboticist and professor of engineering
at Columbia University, stated that everyone should be aware

3. that technology is on the horizon and that the next generation—
your children and grandchildren—will live in a time when
machines match or perhaps surpass human self-awareness
(Seeker, 2019, 0:07). The widespread belief that humans will
soon be replaced by robots, particularly in the workforce,
appears to be related to the ethical concerns that scientists
should also have. Ethics should be taken into account even
though scientists can still work toward their aim of creating
conscious machines. Aside from unemployment, other moral
concerns include unequal access to other options, manufactured
errors, security, and AI biases. However, the ethical question of
whether machines may be sentient is important because if they
can, they would no longer be considered merely a means to an
end defined by how valuable they are to us as humans but rather
would become a goal in and of themselves (Koch, 2019, para.
32).
Lumen Learning (2020).
Lifespan
development. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-
lifespandevelopment/
·
Module 11: Death and Dying
Part 1: Giving to others: You are the president of a non-profit
organization committed to supporting unique needs within the
community. This week you are training others to work with
people who are terminally ill or in grief. Advise your group
about how to work most effectively with those populations.
Part 2. Post Constructive Peer Feedback: In addition to posting
your main entry, respond to at least TWO (2) of your
classmates’ entries. In 3 or more sentences, provide
constructive feedback. What thoughts did their strategy bring
forth? What questions do you have? Share them. When
providing your feedback present the logic behind it.

4. Classmate post 1:
raining volunteers takes responsibility. Not all volunteers are
suited to help people in specific situations. I would inquire why
the volunteer wanted to help? I would want to know if the
volunteer had suffered a loss of a good friend or family member
and how much time the volunteer could offer to help community
members, i.e. what other obligations the volunteer had. Perhaps
I would want to know their educational background, and if the
volunteer was up to specific training? Next I would have a well
organized cross section of literature and videos to educate the
volunteer just as we have been educated in this module with
issues pertaining to the capacity to understand patients and
families situations, specifically those associated with end of
life. Also I would ask if the volunteer is bi-lingual, I would go
over Elisabeth Kubler Ross's 8 stages of grief and other ways of
explaining grief such as those written by Warden, Parkes, Shut
and others. I would spend time with the volunteers and ask them
to go around to visit people with staff and experienced
volunteers before greeting people on their own. I would provide
them with packets of information to go over carefully
themselves before giving them out to those in the community
with needs. I would introduce them to teams that can
specifically help people with Medicare, Palliative Care and
Hospice needs. I would have a list of outreach people from
various religious groups, who could provide visitation and
support groups, and other support groups run by hospitals, and
specific disease professionals, ie. heart, cancer, mental health,
and diabetes. As a basic message I would encourage volunteers
to remember that the most important thing is to be a good
listening post so that they will know at what stage in the grief
process people are and thus what kind of help can best help

5. them now. Spiritually it is helpful to let patients and their
families know that we want to give them the ability to exercise
the most control over working within the confines of illness; we
support their dignity as a person to be in the forefront of any
advice or service that we provide. Let them know that no
question is too many, and we are there in friendship. If there are
financial considerations we should have a list of responsible and
vetted professionals or organizations, who provide transparent
advice. We will also need to know if they have a signed
directive, and HIPPA sign-offs, specifically with whom are we
to communicate with any information about them, but only if
they wish to communicate. We want to reflect that we know that
they are grieving because of a deep love that they have for
another person, and at the same time will protect their privacy
and try to make them as comfortable as possible. Remind these
good people to take care of themselves and buddy up with
family members to provide care for family members; remind
families to look-out for each other and suggest services to
family members suffering depression. Remind them to share
good times even as they process grief.
Reference
Lumen Learning Course(2020) Module(11)Death and Dying.
Retrieved from:https://courses.lumen learning.com/wm-
lifespandevelopment/Chapter/bereavement- and- Grief
Classmate post 2:
When an individual is terminally ill, I believe it is important to
try and maintain as much control and autonomy for the
individual as possible, giving them a sense of empowerment
over their care (Lumen Learning, 2020). One way to achieve
this goal would be to thoroughly educate patients about their
illness and treatment options. Studies show that patients who
are well educated about their terminal diagnosis are better able
to adjust emotionally which reduces anxiety and creates a
feeling of support (Huffman & Stern, 2003). When my mother

6. was told she had stage 4 pancreatic cancer and only had weeks
to live, it was very important that she understood everything
about her disease as possible. I remember her specifically
having me write out descriptions for her 20+ different
medications she was on because she didn’t want to be in the
dark about what she was taking and when.
Also, educating the grieving family on the death and dying
process will help them to better support their dying family
member through this stage of life. Although death and dying
are normal life processes, many people are uncomfortable with
the thought and processes that occur during death, and will
often withdraw from a person with a terminal illness. Our text,
(Lumen Learning, 2020), explains that, “ Social support is
important for quality of life and those who experience social
death are deprived from benefits that come from loving
interacting with others.” While my mom was in hospice the
nurses would often explain to me different things that were
happening physically with my mom, (like weird breathing), so I
would know what is normal and not be so afraid of death. They
also encouraged me and the rest of my family to interact with
her as much as we could, such as talking to her a lot and staying
with her, even when she was sleeping. These interactions not
only helped my mom to know she was alone, but also helped me
and my family with our grief.
Huffman, J. C., & Stern, T. A. (2003). Compassionate Care of
the Terminally Ill.
Primary care companion to the Journal of clinical
psychiatry,
5(3), 131–136.
https://doi.org/10.4088/pcc.v05n0305Lumen. (2020).
Module 11: Death and dying. Retrieved from
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-
lifespandevelopment/chapter/bereavement-and-grief/
less