Great article!
As an elimininativist (a kind one) I reject the scientific use of words like consciousness, mind, intelligence, free will, etc. Not for the same reasons you exposed in your article, but because of the cultural aspects lying underneath them, and thus because they have no material scientific definition. They are luggage words where everybody put what ever they wants in it. This is why people call consciousness the hard problem.
From my point of view, the only piece missing is Radical Embodiment Neuroscience (REN). Our ancestors made an error in trying to elevate humans above animals, disregarding and neglecting our magnificent bodies. Since them the body became a totem, with lot of morals like the true beauty is inside, meaning only our mind or soul is important. However, more and more embodiment research look at the body as the missing piece to understand consciousness. And I think that this is the best direction to follow.
So, back to the subject of AI and consciousness, and in regards to REN, I think that AI is great for extending the mind (reason and knowledge), but it won’t have a body like ours for a long time. It isn’t conscious, or its consciousness is so minimal, because AI isn’t embodied like we are. That’s our power over AI, and we should take care of our bodies before AI take over humanity due to our laziness.
