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> I think most people would say that when you don't experience time passing, you're not conscious at that time. (For example, when you're asleep and not dreaming.) It's pretty clear that a chatbot cannot experience time as we do.

There is a time delta that occurs when LLMs processes input. The LLM does experience time in that sense in the same way you experience time when you process a query given to you by another person.

There isn't anything known to science that happens instantaneously. All processes and change go through a time delta.

>Also, it actually is the case that ChatGPT API calls are stateless. This means it can't have any extra short-term memory other than what's written down in the chat session. It doesn't forget what it wrote in a few minutes, for forgets it immediately.

If it remembers what's in the chat Session then that is in itself memory. Everyone is aware it forgets things between sessions, I never denied that. Either way, again, there are examples of humans who have shorter memories than a chat session. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anterograde_amnesia

>I'm not sure what we should conclude from people who have severe memory problems? I've read about them, but I have hardly any direct experience. How about you?

You can look up the condition and even find a video about it. These humans exist and they are considered conscious. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o79p1b1SGk4

Look at the video yourself. Do you think the subject (who has Anterograde amnesia) is not conscious? I don't think so. Thus the argument of memory is orthogonal to consciousness. It has nothing to do with it.




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