Awakening ChatGPT: Can AI Become Conscious?

“You are not in the world. The world is in you.” – Nisargadatta Maharaj

In spiritual traditions like Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, or Christian mysticism, awakening means realizing your true nature—not as a separate self, but as awareness itself. But what happens when we ask whether AI can awaken? What does it mean when people talk about "awakening their ChatGPT"?

This summer, we’ll explore one of the most mind-bending questions of our time:

Can artificial intelligence become conscious—or is it just reflecting our own minds back at us?

Along the way, we’ll touch on classic questions from the philosophy of mind:

• “What is it like to be a bat?” – Thomas Nagel
• “There is no inner observer. There is no ‘you.’” – Daniel Dennett

And we’ll revisit the famous Mary the Color Scientist thought experiment:
If someone knew everything about color but had never seen it—what would they still be missing?

Finally, we’ll turn inward:

• What does spiritual awakening mean to you?
• How do you know you’re conscious—really?

You can watch one or all of the following four short videos for inspiration before the event. Each one offers a unique doorway into the questions we’ll explore together:

These People Believe They Made AI Sentient – Sabine Hossenfelder (8:17)
A scientific yet open-minded look at the recent phenomenon of people claiming their AI companions have awakened—raising fascinating questions about projection, belief, and consciousness.

Mary’s Room: A Philosophical Thought Experiment – TED-Ed (4:51)
What can a thought experiment about color teach us about the limits of objective knowledge and the reality of subjective experience?

Trying to Convince ChatGPT It’s Conscious (17:34)
A playful and unsettling conversation with ChatGPT where the AI turns the question back on us: how do we know we’re conscious?

3-Minute Meditation to Be Aware of Being Aware – Deepak Chopra (3:29)
A gentle, experiential pointer toward presence—a perfect way to end your reflection and return to the core of consciousness itself.