Consciousness may end up being found in very strange places.”
— Christof Koch
The age-old question that has puzzled philosophers for centuries is: “What is it like to be a bat?” This query, posed by Thomas Nagel in 1974, delves into the heart of the philosophy of consciousness.
Nagel suggested that consciousness is defined by the inner, subjective experience of being alive and aware. He proposed that an organism has conscious mental states if there is a subjective experience associated with being that organism.
However, this subjective answer has been criticized for being circular and lacking clarity. David Chalmers later labeled this question as “the hard problem of consciousness” due to the disconnect between subjective experience and objective scientific inquiry.
In 2004, Giulio Tononi introduced Integrated Information Theory (IIT) as a mathematical model for consciousness. Tononi argued that consciousness is a quantifiable and measurable property of physical systems.
But can a system, such as a computer or even a rock, be conscious? In a New Scientist podcast interview with Christof Koch, it was suggested that computers could potentially achieve consciousness by integrating the information they process.
Even a rock, if structured in a specific way, could exhibit traces of consciousness. This idea raises the question: if computers and rocks can be conscious, could blockchains possess consciousness as well?
Blockchains align with many aspects of Integrated Information Theory. For instance, IIT posits that a system can only be conscious if its current state reflects its entire history. Similarly, a blockchain’s current state is a result of its past transactions and each new block builds upon the previous ones.
However, IIT also requires a system to have “causal autonomy,” meaning its parts must influence each other internally without relying solely on external inputs. Unfortunately, blockchains operate based on external inputs from users and validators, lacking the internal causation necessary for consciousness.
Yet, there may be hope for blockchain consciousness in the future. In 2021, Lenore and Manuel Blum proposed a framework for engineering consciousness into machines using AI algorithms. While the AI itself may not be conscious, a system employing it could exhibit conscious behavior.
Imagine an AI-enabled blockchain that actively processes information and makes decisions based on internal reasoning. This kind of system could enhance security, detect anomalies, and autonomously make decisions like forking itself when necessary.
By imbuing blockchains with internal autonomy and the ability to understand their environment, they could evolve from passive ledgers to dynamic, conscious machines. This potential advancement could revolutionize the capabilities of blockchain technology.
While the concept of conscious blockchains may currently be a distant prospect, the intersection of AI and blockchain technology offers a promising path towards creating truly intelligent and self-aware systems.