Artificial intelligence (AI) keep advancing and getting sharper every single day, but can it think like a real human?
According to a recent study published in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, biological computationalism holds that the brain uses its own physical matter for computation, and implies that the idea of “computation,” is the issue rather than power.
This changes our understanding of artificial and human consciousness.
The neuroscientists Borjan Milinkovic and Jaan Aru are not denying the existence of consciousness in machines in the study; but, they suggest that it relies on a type of computation that doesn’t exist in digital systems. The mind comes from physical processes that are fundamentally linked to biology; the brain does not distinguish between “hardware” and “software.”
Why brains create consciousness—and machines don’t
This approach explains why brains are capable of producing consciousness while modern machines cannot, but it does not define consciousness itself. It looks at how and why the brain is different from computers in terms of computation.
According to computational functionalism: consciousness is organized information that is independent of material; a system is considered conscious if it imitates the brain’s functional pattern. The same “mental program” could theoretically exist on silicon or other substances.
However, biological naturalism says that consciousness depends on the physical processes that living systems go through, like actual neurons, metabolism, chemistry, and specific biological organization that need to exist. In this case, mimicking functions is not enough.
Both points of view help but they come up a little short, according to the experts. The study suggests to see how a real brain works—something far more complicated than a simple “meat computer.”
Brain computation Vs computers
Computers have a processor, a memory, and separate instructions; giving the device control and flexibility.
However in the brain, processing and memory are not clearly separated, and when they are functioning, neurons go through structural changes. That activity continuously changes the system. Also, a nerve signal is more than a simple “on-off” switch. Every impulse is accompanied by ongoing chemical and electrical changes. The brain’s ability to think and learn depends strongly on this mix.
In the brain, computation is physical time—signals change as they move—whereas computation time in computing is just abstract.
Simulation is not enough if computation depends on the base; it needs to be integrated. A digital model can replicate results, but not always the process.
Molecular and network levels are linked together in the brain: activity modifies structure, and structure influences activity. Levels are different in computers; a program does not change the physics of the chip.
Because the brain has a limited amount of energy, it reduces metabolic costs by combining processes and reusing dynamics for different purposes. The secret to conscious experience might be in that efficiency.
The way the brain organizes enormous quantities of information without using excessive amounts of energy, that’s what consciousness could be.
Creating conscious machines might need new types of matter
The theory doesn’t state that it is impossible to create artificial consciousness; it’s still early, and AI is getting closer everyday.
However, it suggests that at present computation is separable and abstract, so scaling digital algorithms is not enough. Brain functions are simulated by neural networks, but this is not a physical realization.
Today’s computers are not enough if it depends on physical processes like energy use, chemistry, and structure. Although AI can mimic brain activity, it just simply doesn’t operate in the same way as a human brain.
For this reason, scientists are investigating new physical systems, like neuromorphic computing, they are looking for what kind of matter can produce consciousness, not an algorithm.
