And what if the essentially qualia of suffering is just what a loss function feels like, and each time we spin up a deep convolution generative adversarial neural network to make pictures of cats that don't exist yet, we're bringing into existence a spark of consciousness and then rapid-fire torturing it with an unspeakable agony far excruciating than anything our meatsack bodies could even conceive of.

edit: oh god, this actually blew up, I had intended it to be nothing more than a shitpost

    • science_pope [any]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Sorry, you're right. It's not possible to prove. But that's true of people, too, so you're still just left with intersubjectively verifiable qualia, eh?

        • science_pope [any]
          ·
          4 years ago

          I think we're pretty much on the same page, here.

          I’d say, the further away we get from humans, (to other animals, and to non-animals like computer programs) the question is more tricky.

          I agree. But you can ask them.