Skip to content

Can AI ever become sentient?

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Asked by Malcolm Bonnici

There is hope, there is fear, but no solid answers. Many bicker on the definition of artificial intelligence (AI), computers, robots, machines, and being sentient. If your definition of sentience includes being conscious, arguments can be bogged down in whether material objects can ever become conscious.In 1950, Alan Turing circumvented the problem by suggesting the Turing test.

If a human cannot distinguish between a computer and human then the computer has achieved sentience.

The illusion of sentience is enough for Turing. The argument has its flaws, but with the US starting a brain-mapping project and the EU recently launching a billion euro project to simulate the human brain with supercomputers, artificial sentience could become reality. And, the next inevitable question would be: would they take over the world?

Send your questions to think@um.edu.mt and we’ll find out if it’s the truth or just a fib!

Author

More to Explore

From Cinderella to Centre Stage: Malta’s Creative Sector and Vision 2050

10/03/2026 No Comments

A once significantly smaller arts and culture sector is stepping out of the shadows. At a recent Vision 2050 consultation, policymakers, artists, and academics explored how creativity can shape the nation’s future, balancing heritage, innovation, and economic growth. From theatre to publishing, gymnastics to urban design, the long-overlooked Cinderella sector is finally being recognised as central to Malta’s social and economic story.

Radiation in Medicine: Balancing Benefit and Risk

06/03/2026 No Comments

What if an invisible energy could both reveal disease and help cure it? From diagnostic scans to targeted cancer therapy, radiation drives some of medicine’s most powerful tools. Understanding how this force can both benefit and harm patients is key to using it safely, responsibly, and to its greatest clinical advantage.

Comments are closed for this article!