# If consciousness is dynamically relevant, artificial intelligence isn't conscious

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.05077 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.05077/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 10 of its 53 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 11 Apr 2023.

## Builds on (most cited first, 10 of 10)

- [Could a Large Language Model be Conscious?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.07103/) (2023)
- [The Vector Grounding Problem](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.01481/) (2023)
- [Designing Ecosystems of Intelligence from First Principles](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.01354/) (2022)
- [A Theory of Consciousness from a Theoretical Computer Science Perspective: Insights from the Conscious Turing Machine](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.13704/) (2021)
- [On the link between conscious function and general intelligence in humans and machines](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.05133/) (2022)
- [Sources of Richness and Ineffability for Phenomenally Conscious States](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.06403/) (2023)
- [The Mathematical Structure of Integrated Information Theory](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.07655/) (2020)
- [What is a Mathematical Structure of Conscious Experience?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.11812/) (2023)
- [The Closure of the Physical, Consciousness and Scientific Practice](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.03518/) (2021)
- [Reasonable Machines: A Research Manifesto](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2008.06250/) (2020)

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [The feasibility of artificial consciousness through the lens of neuroscience](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.00915/) (2023)
- [A Disproof of Large Language Model Consciousness: The Necessity of Continual Learning for Consciousness](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.12802/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We demonstrate that if consciousness is relevant for the temporal evolution of a system's states--that is, if it is dynamically relevant--then AI systems cannot be conscious. That is because AI systems run on CPUs, GPUs, TPUs or other processors which have been designed and verified to adhere to computational dynamics that systematically preclude or suppress deviations. The design and verification preclude or suppress, in particular, potential consciousness-related dynamical effects, so that if consciousness is dynamically relevant, AI systems cannot be conscious.