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Cited by 19Psychiatry, Mental Health, NeurosciencePhilosophy and Theoretical ScienceEthics and Social Impacts of AI

Signs of consciousness in AI: Can GPT-3 tell how smart it really is?

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Bojić, Ljubiša, Stojković, Irena, Jolić Marjanović, Zorana·2024·Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
DOI 10.1057/s41599-024-04154-3
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Abstract

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how humans live and interact, raising both excitement and concerns—particularly about the potential for AI consciousness. For example, Google engineer Blake Lemoine suggested that the AI chatbot LaMDA might become sentient. At that time, GPT-3 was one of the most powerful publicly available language models, capable of simulating human reasoning to a certain extent. The notion of GPT-3 having some degree of consciousness could be linked to its ability to produce human-like responses, hinting at a basic level of understanding. To explore this further, we administered both objective and self-assessment tests of cognitive (CI) and emotional intelligence (EI) to GPT-3. Results showed that GPT-3 outperformed average humans on CI tests requiring the use and demonstration of acquired knowledge. However, its logical reasoning and EI capacities matched those of an average human. GPT-3’s self-assessments of CI and EI didn’t always align with its objective performance, with variations comparable to different human subsamples (e.g., high performers, males). A further discussion considered whether these results signal emerging subjectivity and self-awareness in AI. Future research should examine various language models to identify emergent properties of AI. The goal is not to discover machine consciousness itself, but to identify signs of its development, occurring independently of training and fine-tuning processes. If AI is to be further developed and widely deployed in human interactions, creating empathic AI that mimics human behavior is essential. The rapid advancement toward superintelligence requires continuous monitoring of AI’s human-like capabilities, particularly in general-purpose models, to ensure safety and alignment with human values.

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  • Bojić et al. (2024) suggested that capabilities of language models should be constantly monitored for potential emergence of awareness and self-awareness.

    “Although these authors present their conclusions using cautious words (”

    From There is no such thing as conscious artificial intelligence (2025) · cites this paper as Bojić et al., 2024

  • Bojić et al. (2024) stated that initial observation of language models' capabilities suggests GPT-3 can simulate some degree of consciousness.

    “It is worth citing Bojić et al. (2024, p. 11):”

    From There is no such thing as conscious artificial intelligence (2025) · cites this paper as Bojić et al., 2024

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Authors
Bojić, L., Stojković, I., & Jolić Marjanović, Z.
Affiliations
University of Belgrade (RS)
Corresponding author
  • Bojić, Ljubiša
  • Stojković, Irena
ORCID
Venue
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2024-12-02
Volume
11
Issue
1
ISSN
  • 2055-1045 (ISSN-L)
  • 2662-9992
DOI
10.1057/s41599-024-04154-3
OpenAlex
W4404932781
Cited by
19
References
119
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1
FWCI
2.65
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • SSRN Electronic Journal (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Faculty of Philosophy (University of Belgrade) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation (University of Belgrade) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Repository of the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory (University of Belgrade, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › Psychiatry, Mental Health, Neuroscience
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Ethics and Social Impacts of AI
Keywords
artificial consciousness, GPT-3, cognitive intelligence, emotional intelligence, self-assessment, self-awareness, subjectivity, empathic AI, superintelligence, AI safety, language models

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