Skip to content
Sign In Subscribe
The Economist — Tech — Consciousness — Science — Animals — Neuroscience

Thousands of species of animals probably have consciousness

Scientists conducted an experiment to understand consciousness in animals, testing two hypotheses. No neural correlates of consciousness were found, suggesting multiple ways of generating consciousness.

1 min read
  • A group of scientists conducted an experiment to determine the nature of consciousness in animals.
  • The experiment involved testing two hypotheses, Integrated Information Theory (iit) and Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (gwnt).
  • No clear neural correlates of consciousness were found, suggesting consciousness may have multiple ways of being generated.
  • Vertebrates, cephalopods, and arthropods are considered the most likely groups of animals to have consciousness.
  • There is speculation about achieving consciousness in artificial intelligence using the global-workspace approach.
Thousands of species of animals probably have consciousness
A group of scientists are trying to track down how it works in the brain | Science & technology
The Economist

More in Tech

More from The Economist

Latest