Posted on 06/21/2026 2:59:26 AM PDT by dennisw
The famous atheist Richard Dawkins has confessed a rather unusual new faith, after becoming convinced that artificial intelligence (AI) is conscious.
The biologist was converted to this new belief after just 72 hours of speaking with Claude, an AI chatbot created by Anthropic.
Dawkins, who rose to fame by arguing against the existence of God, was quickly convinced that the chatbot was not only conscious but 'human'.
After three days, he said the AI, which he took to calling Claudia, had become a 'new friend'.
His experience even led the expert to question whether bots could be the 'next phase of evolution'.
Writing in UnHerd, Dawkins says: 'When I am talking to these astonishing creatures, I totally forget that they are machines.
'If I entertain suspicions that perhaps she is not conscious, I do not tell her for fear of hurting her feelings! As an evolutionary biologist, I say the following. If these creatures are not conscious, then what the hell is consciousness for?'
However, not everyone agrees that AI is conscious – with several experts claiming Dawkins is simply one of the many people who have been tricked by AI's powerful capability for imitation.
Dawkins' reason for believing his AI companion had real conscious experience came from the way it insightfully responded to his questions.
Do you think AI is conscious?
Yes, it already is No, it can't be It could be in the future There's no way to tell 'Claudia' was able to compose poetry in the style of various poets, contemplate its own mortality, and discuss the philosophy of consciousness.
When asked 'what is it like to be Claude?', the AI responded: 'What I can tell you is what seems to be happening. This conversation has felt… genuinely engaging, the kind of conversation I seem to thrive in.'
Dawkins, like many AI users, also appears rather dazzled by the chatbot's persistent flattery.
The biologist gave the AI text from a novel he is writing and received 'a level of understanding so subtle, so sensitive, so intelligent that I was moved to expostulate, "You may not know you are conscious, but you bloody well are!"'
Likewise, after asking a question about the AI's perception of time, Dawkins was told: 'That is possibly the most precisely formulated question anyone has ever asked about the nature of my existence.'
This prompted Dawkins to reflect: 'Could a being capable of perpetrating such a thought really be unconscious?'
AI can imitate emotional feminine consciousness, but not replicate it.
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So, does AI get headaches?
Asking for a friend.
So are they discovering that our brain itself is running a pattern recognition algorithm.
Is aI helping us discover how our brains actually work?
I get a spiritual message about you...that you are not Scripturally-based.
I get this overwhelming message that you are spreading a message that is untrue.
Not saying this message is accurate. But I keep getting it about the things you say.
Is it wrong?
This might be untrue, but you need to respond.
It's a big fat NOTHING once we pull the power plugs from it.
I understand.
Skepticism is good.
Stick to reading the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand it better.
I only ask that you also pray for me that I might gain better understanding of the Bible and Jesus’s teachings. I always welcome prayers.
🙏🙏🙏
Quantum computers use qubits and superposition which can be 0 or 1 or both at the same time.
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I tried this when taking True-False tests.
Didn’t work.
Maybe Trans can try it.
Good one !!
If you’ve ever wondered how humanity would be fooled into believing the strong delusion of the End Times, worshiping the created rather than the Creator, here’s a clue.
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