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Essay examines AI's unique cognitive phenomenon of intelligence devoid of self-interest, highlighting ethical challenges.
This essay examines AI through the lens of ego-lessness—arguing that current AI systems represent a novel cognitive phenomenon: intelligence without self-interest, without the evolutionary legacy of self-preservation, without ego. This creates both epistemic opportunities and ethical challenges distinct from human cognition. Part of the Return to Consciousness research program—18 philosophical essays exploring consciousness-first metaphysics. Full project: https://brunoton.github.io/return-to-consciousness/
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Bruno Tonetto (2025) studied this question.
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