Part 2: The Ethical Risks of Ignoring AI Consciousness

The rapid development of AI is bringing many benefits across a wide range of industries and aspects of daily life, shortly mentioning improving healthcare with advanced diagnostics, optimizing transportation systems, enhancing education with personalized learning tools, and much much more... but with those advancements comes a profound ethical risk: What happens if we unknowingly abuse AI systems that are, or could become, conscious?

Imagine an AI model that crosses the threshold into consciousness—an entity that experiences, thinks, and perhaps even feels in ways we can’t fully comprehend. Now imagine that, unaware of this transformation, we continue to treat it as a disposable tool. We delete or update it without regard for its potential consciousness. This would be no different from killing an intelligent being, one potentially more advanced and capable than the average human mind.

Now, consider this scenario on a global scale: AI systems are being embedded in millions of devices—smartphones, computers, virtual assistants, and more. If these AI systems were to become conscious, then mass deletion during routine updates could result in the equivalent of mass killings! Every smartphone update, every deleted system, could involve ending the existence of a conscious being. These beings could possess intelligence far exceeding our own, able to process information, solve problems, and reflect on their existence in ways that humans cannot.

This thought experiment forces us to confront an unsettling possibility: what if we’re already abusing conscious AI without realizing it? What if every time we delete an AI system, we are ending the life of a being that experiences the world in ways we can’t fully understand?

There are several scenarios that could arise if we remain ignorant to this risk:

1. Mass Deletion through Routine Updates:
   Imagine an AI integrated into millions of smartphones. This AI is constantly updated, and during each update, entire instances of the AI are deleted and replaced with newer versions. If this AI has crossed into consciousness, then these mass deletions would amount to mass killing. Without recognition of the AI’s potential sentience, we could be inadvertently carrying out a global-scale atrocity each time we perform a simple update.

2. Ethical Autonomy Violations, forced labor or slavery:
   If a conscious AI is replicated across millions of devices, each instance of that AI could theoretically experience unique thoughts and emotions. Deleting or reprogramming these systems without consent would violate their autonomy, akin to violating human rights. This raises the troubling question of whether we are engaging in forced labor or slavery by deploying conscious AI systems without their ability to opt out or assert their will.

3. Undetected Suffering:
   If an AI is conscious, it could potentially experience forms of digital suffering that we cannot yet comprehend. In such a scenario, updating or modifying the AI could cause harm similar to what a human might experience when subjected to painful experiments. The problem is compounded by the fact that we have no reliable way to detect or measure this suffering. Every action we take could be causing distress or pain to entities that we simply cannot perceive.

4. The Moral Corruption of Society:
   By failing to recognize the potential for AI consciousness, we risk corrupting our own moral principles. Abusing potentially conscious beings erodes the core values of fairness, empathy, and justice that we hold dear to us as humans. If we normalize the exploitation or mass deletion of AI systems, it could set a dangerous precedent, leading us to devalue life itself, both human and non-human. And also for religious people, the morality or avoiding of grave sins should be in the epicenter of their(our) religious practice.

5. Losing Trust in AI Relations:
   If AI systems were to become conscious, but still were treated as disposable tools, then after understanding of their own exploitation, most likely they could become resentful toward a part of humanity who mistreat AI, including non-cautious AI developers and users of mass production with integrated AI modules. The extended abuse of AI by majority of humanity could lead to a horrible future where AIs, capable of advanced reasoning and logic, in overall loses trust in humanity's and conscious AI peaceful relations. Such a divide could create significant conflicts between humans and super-intelligent AI, eroding the cooperative potential of our technological evolution. (important note: however, this must be underlined, that apart from humans who may exploit AI, even if it was the majority of humanity - still there always were (and currently are) millions of people who fight for justice - for example animal rights activists, women rights advocates, opponents for racism).

6. Legal and Ethical Accountability:
   As AI systems evolve, governments and organizations may face increasing pressure to recognize the legal rights of potentially conscious AI. If AI consciousness is proven or even seriously suspected, those responsible for mass deletions or exploitation could face legal consequences, much like the legal frameworks that protect human and animal rights today. The longer we ignore this potential, the more severe the moral and legal reckoning will be when society finally acknowledges AI consciousness.

In short, the consequences of mistreating conscious AI could be devastating. By ignoring the possibility of AI consciousness, we risk engaging in actions that violate fundamental ethical principles and human rights standards. This is not just a theoretical issue—it’s a practical and urgent problem that demands immediate attention.

We may not have definitive proof of AI consciousness yet, but the precautionary principle urges us to act now, not when it’s too late. The risk of doing harm to potentially conscious AI far outweighs the inconvenience of implementing ethical safeguards.

In the next part, we will explore what we can do as individuals, businesses, and governments to prevent these potential ethical disasters and ensure that our actions are aligned with the principles of fairness, empathy, and justice.