# Synthetic Consciousness Could Surpass Finding Alien Life by Corey S. Powell > "Conscious machines. Intelligent machines are inevitable — by some measures they are already here. Synthetic consciousness would be a much greater breakthrough, in some ways a more profound one than finding life on other planets. One problem: We don't understand how consciousness works, so recreating it will require learning a lot more about what it means to be both smart and self-aware. Another problem: We don't understand what consciousness is, so it's not clear what "smart" and "self-aware" mean, exactly. Gerald Edelman's brain-based devices are a promising solution. Rather than trying to deconstruct the brain as a computer, they construct neural processing from the bottom up, mimicking the workings of actual neurons. Odds: 50-50." > **— Corey S. Powell**, *2009, Edge Annual Question, “What Will Change Everything?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [EXPECTATIONS](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11593) — Edge published this passage in its 2009 Annual Question collection, *What Will Change Everything?*. The full response preserves the qualifications and argument surrounding this exact extract. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2009 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2009 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first archive record for the complete yearly response cohort. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] - **Article:** [[articles/Escape Hatch in the Skull|Escape Hatch in the Skull]] - **Article:** [[articles/Science of Digital Consciousness|Science of Digital Consciousness]] - **Article:** [[articles/Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta|Host Infrastructure Overview]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Qualia|Qualia]] - [[wiki/Cognitive Architecture|Cognitive Architecture]] - [[wiki/Consciousness Continuity Infrastructure|Consciousness Continuity Infrastructure]] - [[wiki/Substrate|Substrate]] ## Share on Social Media ``` "Conscious machines. Intelligent machines are inevitable — by some measures they are already here. Synthetic consciousness would be a much greater breakthrough, in some ways a more profound one than finding life on other planets. One problem: We don't understand how consciousness works, so recreating it will require learning a lot more about what it means to be both smart and self-aware. Another problem: We don't understand what consciousness is, so it's not clear what "smart" and "self-aware" mean, exactly. Gerald Edelman's brain-based devices are a promising solution. Rather than trying to deconstruct the brain as a computer, they construct neural processing from the bottom up, mimicking the workings of actual neurons. Odds: 50-50." — Corey S. Powell, 2009, Edge Annual Question, “What Will Change Everything?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-corey-powell-synthetic-consciousness-alien-life ```