Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have achieved human-scale speed and accuracy for classification tasks. Current systems do not need to be conscious to recognize patterns and classify them. However, for AI to advance to the next level, it needs to develop capabilities such as metathinking, creativity, and empathy. We contend that such a paradigm shift is possible through a fundamental change in the state of artificial intelligence toward consciousness, similar to what took place for humans through the process of natural selection and evolution. To that end, we propose that consciousness in AI is an emergent phenomenon that primordially appears when two machines cocreate their own language through which they can recall and communicate their internal state of time-varying symbol manipulation. Because, in our view, consciousness arises from the communication of inner states, it leads to empathy. We then provide a link between the empathic quality of machines and better service outcomes associated with empathic human agents that can also lead to accountability in AI services.

人工智能 (AI) 的最新进展已经实现了人类规模的分类任务速度和准确性。当前的系统不需要有意识地识别模式并对其进行分类。然而，要让人工智能更上一层楼，它需要发展元思维、创造力和同理心等能力。我们认为，通过人工智能状态向意识的根本变化，这种范式转变是可能的，类似于人类通过自然选择和进化过程发生的情况。为此，我们提出人工智能中的意识是一种新兴现象，当两台机器共同创造自己的语言时，它们可以回忆和交流其时变符号操作的内部状态，这种现象最初会出现。因为，在我们看来，意识产生于内在状态的交流，它导致同理心。然后，我们在机器的移情质量和与移情的人类代理相关的更好的服务结果之间建立联系，这也可以导致人工智能服务的问责制。