Consciousness: perspectives from symbolic and connectionist AI

While consciousness has not been a major concern of most AI researchers, some theorists have tried to explore how computational models might explain consciousness. I explore how far computational models might go in explaining consciousness, focusing on three aspects of conscious mental states: their intrinsic intentionality, the awareness a subject has of the contents of these intentional states, and the distinctive qualitative character of these states. I describe and evaluate strategies for developing connectionist systems that satisfy these aspects of consciousness.