What is cognition? Cognition is a distinctive behavior exclusive to sentient beings, encompassing both the ability to perceive and being perceived. The capability to perceive refers to consciousness, while being perceived pertains to the objects perceived by consciousness. Those being perceived are both physical entities and mental states. In philosophy, consciousness is often identified as the mental, and physical entities as material. The question of primacy between them forms the dividing line between idealism and materialism. In Buddhist Yogacara doctrine, both the capability to perceive and the objects perceived are considered as functions of consciousness, termed as "phenomena'' and "perceiver." The intrinsic nature of consciousness is referred to as "self-knowing." This doctrine rejects the existence of inherent material entities. However, materialists posit that cognition is simply an activity of material substance, suggesting that cognition lacks an intrinsic nature and is merely a result of material movement.
The scope of this topic is extensive, and it is impossible to cover everything in just two days. Therefore, I can only discuss some broad concepts and logical frameworks. The subtle connections within these broad logical frameworks can be explored in depth by those who are interested, while those who are not interested can choose to disregard it.
What is cognition? Well, everyone is familiar with it – seeing with the eyes, hearing with the ears, these are all forms of cognition. The statement, “Cognition is a distinctive behavior exclusive to sentient beings,” unequivocally rejects the idea that AI possesses cognition. Can AI cognize? No, it cannot. What AI does is a passive operation, a computation. It boasts powerful computing abilities. Give it an instruction, and it will carry out calculations based on your guidance. For instance, if you ask AI, “What is cognition?” it will systematically gather online data about cognition, filter and amalgamate it according to your reading habits, and promptly generate an article for you.
I asked ChatGPT about the nature of matter, the essence of materialistic existence, the concept of existence, and the meaning of cognition. It promptly delivered a lengthy response. Upon review, it became evident that its understanding is somewhat rudimentary and not particularly refined. In a nutshell, AI lacks cognition; it is merely a passive operation and rapid processing.
Someone might say, "The human mind also operates quickly, doesn’t it?" Absolutely. However, humans also have the awareness and the innate ability to manifest, instantly projecting perceived phenomena, and this process is not bound by time. If we were to find a physical analogy for the ability of direct awareness and manifesting in physics, it could be likened to quantum entanglement. "Quantum entanglement" refers to the phenomenon where two or more particles in a system mutually influence each other. Despite being distant, when one particle moves, the other also moves immediately, and the entanglement between the two particles is faster than the speed of light. It is as if there is some form of information transfer between the two particles; otherwise, why would they be entangled?
This phenomenon has also posed challenges in physics. Physicists have been trying to figure out what facilitates the transfer between two particles. Two particles becoming entangled at the same time, and the speed at which the transfer occurs surpasses the speed of light. The question here is why it can occur simultaneously. The human mind can operate simultaneously; appearance and cognition occur at the same time. This simultaneous cognitive ability is absent in AI, but humans possess it. The moment I see this thing, the appearance and the cognition happen simultaneously.
When we have practiced “mere emptiness” to a deeper level, we will come to believe that: awareness is appearance, and appearance is awareness. It is not that appearance arises on one side and there is something else to perceive it on the other. Rather, awareness is present at the same time as appearance arises. In this case, appearance must be unreal. If it were real, it would be there by itself, and then you would perceive it. In this case, appearance would not be awareness. On the contrary, if it is not real, awareness is present at the same time as appearance arises. But many people will misunderstand this. We can even be aware of what thinking is. You know that you are thinking, and you know it at the same time as you are thinking. Therefore, awareness is present at the same time as appearance. AI does not have this ability.
Therefore, it can be affirmed that "Cognition is a distinctive behavior exclusive to sentient beings." In addition to the direct cognitive approach mentioned above, humans also employ another cognitive method—thinking. Thinking is inferential, but you are aware that you are thinking, which is also direct cognition. For instance, you can think about something, and others may not know what's on your mind, but you yourself are aware of it. We often say, "Don't you have it in your mind?" because you indeed know what you are thinking while you are thinking it; you do not need to go check what is on your mind. This direct form of cognition is exclusive to living beings; AI does not possess this ability.
