The Simulation Theory of Consciousness (or Your Autonomous Car Is Sentient)

Have you ever wondered what our robots might be thinking? What do our cars experience as they use their sensors to observe the world around them and increasingly take over our driving duties? When we play computer games, are we the only ones who experience the simulated virtual worlds they create? More generally, are our computer-driven creations sentient with their own internal, subjective streams of conscious?

Named a distinguished engineer by the Association of Computing Machinery, Donald...