# Conscious Machines May Suffer by Thomas Metzinger > "Through this step, negative preferences become negative subjective preferences, i.e., the conscious representation that one's own preferences have been frustrated (or will be frustrated in the future)." > **— Thomas Metzinger**, *2015, Edge annual question “What Do You Think About Machines That Think?”* ## Sources and Context - **Full authored response and quotation context:** [What If They Need To Suffer?](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/26091) — Edge's 2015 annual-question response by Thomas Metzinger; the linked page contains the complete response and quoted passage. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] - **Article:** [[articles/Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas|The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Closed-Loop Gaussian Sensorium Engine|The Closed-Loop Gaussian Sensorium Engine]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Artificial Consciousness|Artificial Consciousness]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/AI Welfare|AI Welfare]] - [[wiki/Instrumentalization of Suffering|Instrumentalization of Suffering]] - [[wiki/Preference Discovery|Preference Discovery]] - [[wiki/Sentience|Sentience]] ## Share on Social Media ``` "Through this step, negative preferences become negative subjective preferences, i.e., the conscious representation that one's own preferences have been frustrated (or will be frustrated in the future)." — Thomas Metzinger, 2015, Edge annual question “What Do You Think About Machines That Think?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-thomas-metzinger-conscious-machines-suffer ```