[DaveZ]

Good topic and conversation, thank you for the post.

We don’t have a working, scientific theory of human (or even animal) consciousness beyond I exist, therefore I am. It is under constant study though.

I’ve spent a good part of my life working with artificial intelligence so the concept of consciousness occasionally crosses my mind. (See how I did that?) Common sense is essential to AI and is developed in varieties. How an automated car interacts with a cat is different than a tank. Consciousness is something else entirely and, like humans, is sold like snake oil (albeit digital).

I agree with replies to this post saying that more science is welcome and with those for whom spiritually and faith is enough. We’ll know we’ve nailed the theory in either case when we not only understand consciousness in ourselves but recognize and relate to it in other people. AI seamlessly collaborates between digital entities (machines or other programs) using this common sense but that doesn’t happen as easily with conscious human beings largely because we haven’t developed much past “I exist”. It’s incredibly difficult and some even say impossible for a machine (the brain) to reliably study itself without bias that corrupts the output. Common sense is bias.

UFO’s absolutely exist but that doesn’t prove other intelligent species do. By definition, “UFO” is ambiguous to that which it labels. In science, most mathematical guesses presume that if species are capable of intergalactic travel, the odds are we would interact with at least one of them directly given the quantity of the universe. Kind of the opposite of thinking they must exist because the universe is so big.

One thing that seems certain from our existence is that a species capable of the enormous resources required for intergalactic travel are also masters of political science on their own planet. (Charles Krauthammer). That makes me think they’d be less like Predator and more like Captain Kirk.