The Appeal of (Semi-?) Biological Naturalism about Consciousness

Biological naturalism about consciousness will, I predict, soon be hot. As AI systems start to look more and more like conscious or sentient entities, at least superficially, doubters will be increasingly drawn to arguments against their consciousness. Especially appealing will be arguments that characterize consciousness specifically as a biological phenomenon, one that can't occur in ordinary, non-biological computer systems. Accept biological naturalism, and it looks like you're safe from having to take the possibility of AI consciousness seriously for at least a couple of decades. (Non-naturalist views could also serve this purpose. One might hold, for example, that God installs conscious souls by miracle. But most mainstream philosophers and scientists prefer explanations in terms of purely natural phenomena.) Searching for a Biological Property That Is Necessary for Consciousness Biological naturalist arguments against AI consciousness can be expressed in two steps: (1.)…