Contrary to the imaginations of people who are fond of science-fiction, A.I. will never become self-aware. But how can I be so sure when making a definitive claim about technology, which never stops evolving?
My reason is simple: There is no example of anything in science that has grown a conscience. But does that necessarily negate the possibility of it happening in the future?
With epistemic humility, I have to confess it’s possible, but I do not believe it’s probable. That is, even if scientists/engineers find a way to embody A.I. in some sort of robotic form, I don’t believe it’s likely that it’ll become sentient given the fact that non-physical properties do not emerge from physical properties unless, of course, we count the creation of Adam and Eve. But perhaps this property dualist view of consciousness is not the best way to account for the development of our great, great, great… grandparents’ mental states.
It would seem more in line with scripture to say that Adam and Eve’s consciousness arrived independent from their physical properties once God breathed life into their bodies. That is, prior to the supernatural event of a divine-inspired soul, man and woman were an inanimate material substance. But at the moment of God-breathed conception, a substance dualism occurred. One can make a similar argument for conception in the womb.
This rich history of mental states should stir us to worship an infinitely creative and loving deity who chose to share the experience of free-will, reason, desire, and emotion with his creation, which will never become the reality of A.I. unless God’s creativity exceeds the limitations of technology.