# Initial results of the Digital Consciousness Model

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.17060 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.17060/

## Key facts

- Cited by 6 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 22 Jan 2026.

## Built on by (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [AI and Consciousness: Shifting Focus Towards Tractable Questions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.06965/) (2026)
- [The Sentience Readiness Index: A Preliminary Framework for Measuring National Preparedness for the Possibility of Artificial Sentience](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.01508/) (2026)
- [Calibration and transfer in indicator-based assessments of artificial consciousness](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.27597/) (2026)
- [Moral Attitudes of Sentient ASI towards Humanity and Implications for AGI Development](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.14998/) (2026)
- [Language Models Act on Hidden Valence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.35591/) (2026)
- [From cacophony to hierarchy: a principled framework for assessing AI consciousness](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.35618/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Artificially intelligent systems have become remarkably sophisticated. They hold conversations, write essays, and seem to understand context in ways that surprise even their creators. This raises a crucial question: Are we creating systems that are conscious? The Digital Consciousness Model (DCM) is a first attempt to assess the evidence for consciousness in AI systems in a systematic, probabilistic way. It provides a shared framework for comparing different AIs and biological organisms, and for tracking how the evidence changes over time as AI develops. Instead of adopting a single theory of consciousness, it incorporates a range of leading theories and perspectives - acknowledging that experts disagree fundamentally about what consciousness is and what conditions are necessary for it. This report describes the structure and initial results of the Digital Consciousness Model. Overall, we find that the evidence is against 2024 LLMs being conscious, but the evidence against 2024 LLMs being conscious is not decisive. The evidence against LLM consciousness is much weaker than the evidence against consciousness in simpler AI systems.