Insights from Saint Teresa and Saint Augustine on Artificial Intelligence: Discussing Human Interiority

This article addresses the issue of attributing phenomenal consciousness to Artificial Intelligence (AI), a mistake that can lead to ethically dangerous consequences and that is becoming widespread due to the advances of Large Language Models such as ChatGPT. We juxtapose advancements in AI with the notion of inner experience as it is present in humans. The study draws from various disciplines, including philosophy of mind, artificial intelligence, and theological texts such as "The reviews the current state of the relation between phenomenal consciousness and AI, followed by a critique of the idea that advanced large language models, like GPT-4o, can achieve an inner experience in the same sense we use the term to describe the human inner experience. A common objection is raised, suggesting that AI can become conscious by increasing its complexity until some threshold is surpassed. This is countered by presenting theoretical and empirical evidence on the independence of computational intelligence and phenomenal consciousness. Our study concludes that, despite AI's notable abilities and narrow performance in specific tasks, it lacks the inner experience that characterizes human phenomenology, and, what is more