I wouldn’t say I’m redefining “consciousness” exactly. Rather, “consciousness” has a vague definition, and I’m offering a more precise definition in terms of what I think reasonably captures the core of what we intend to mean by “consciousness” and is consistent with the world as we find it. Unfortunately, since “consciousness” is vaguely defined, people disagree on intuitions about what the core of it is.
Personally I try to just avoid using the term “consciousness” these days because it’s so confusing, but other people like to say it, and closed loop feedback is how I make sense of it.
As to why I think closed-loop feedback is the right way to think about “consciousness”, I included some links to things I wrote a while ago in a sibling comment reply.
I wouldn’t say I’m redefining “consciousness” exactly. Rather, “consciousness” has a vague definition, and I’m offering a more precise definition in terms of what I think reasonably captures the core of what we intend to mean by “consciousness” and is consistent with the world as we find it. Unfortunately, since “consciousness” is vaguely defined, people disagree on intuitions about what the core of it is.
Personally I try to just avoid using the term “consciousness” these days because it’s so confusing, but other people like to say it, and closed loop feedback is how I make sense of it.
As to why I think closed-loop feedback is the right way to think about “consciousness”, I included some links to things I wrote a while ago in a sibling comment reply.