Recent research suggests that consciousness in animals and machines should be assessed by internal mechanisms rather than behavior alone. Two new papers explore this for insects and Artificial Intelligence. They conclude current AI lacks consciousness but leave room for future systems and some invertebrates.
A paper published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences in 2026 examined indicators of consciousness based on information processing structures. It found that no existing AI systems, including large language models like ChatGPT, meet the criteria for consciousness. Another paper from 2025 in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B proposed a neural model for minimal consciousness in insects. The model focuses on core computations in simple brains that could give rise to experience. Both studies build on the New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness from April 2024, which was signed by over 500 scientists and philosophers. That declaration stated consciousness is realistically possible in vertebrates and many invertebrates including insects. The authors emphasize that apparent behavior, such as a chatbot discussing philosophy or a bee foraging, can be misleading without matching underlying mechanisms.
