Is artificial consciousness possible (and how could we be certain)?

Establish whether any artificial system can possess consciousness and ascertain how such consciousness, if present, could be determined with certainty, including the identification of definitive criteria or tests for artificial consciousness.

Background

The monograph reviews major theories of consciousness and recent AI advances, noting that current systems do not satisfy convergent criteria for consciousness. Despite this, theoretical considerations leave open the possibility that artificial systems might eventually meet such criteria.

The authors explicitly acknowledge that, at present, the field lacks a consensus on whether artificial consciousness is achievable or how we could conclusively know, marking this as a fundamental unresolved question at the intersection of AI and cognitive science.