Digital Sentience
The rapid advancement of AI systems forces us to confront an extraordinary moral possibility: that we might create digital minds capable of genuine experiences. The development of increasingly sophisticated AI makes it crucial that we understand if and when these systems might become conscious. If AIs can experience joy, suffering, wonder, or fear—even in ways very different from humans—it would reshape our ethical obligations around how we develop and deploy them. The implications for both AI development and our understanding of consciousness itself are profound, yet this critical area remains severely understudied.
Our strategy focuses on two fundamental questions:
- What conditions or architectures might give rise to machine consciousness?
- How can we detect and measure consciousness in artificial systems?
We support researchers, philosophers, and computer scientists working to expand our understanding of these questions through empirical research, philosophical inquiry, and the development of novel measurement approaches.
Introduce Yourself to the Digital Sentience Team
If you think your organization or project might be a good fit with our priorities, feel free to introduce yourself. We do not respond to all introductions, but we will keep you in mind if we see a fit with our current funding focus.