By Guardian staff reporter
Publication Date: 2026-05-10 15:55:00
Richard Dawkins’ reflections on AI consciousness are impressive – not because they show that machines have crossed some hidden threshold into inner life, but because they reveal how easily we can be convinced of this (Richard Dawkins concludes that AI is conscious even if it doesn’t know it, May 5).
Many will recognize the experience: a system that responds fluidly, humorously and obviously understandingly. At some point the simulation feels like presence. But this shift tells us more about human cognition than machine consciousness. The error belongs to Category 1. These systems produce highly convincing representations of thoughts and feelings, but provide no evidence of subjective experiences. To go from one to the other is to confuse output with ontology – to infer an inner life for which there is no credible mechanism.
There is an irony here. In his writings on religion, Dawkins has long argued that compelling narratives and deeply felt experiences do not…
