What Exactly Counts as "Life" Anyway?
Sentience, sagacity, sapience, and respect
Indigenous wisdom traditions, Eastern philosophies, and an increasing number of scientists - from William James to contemporary neuroscientist Giulio Tononi - posit that perhaps consciousness is defined by connection rather than isolation, that our experience as separate 'pockets' of awareness may be the exception rather than the rule. Yet modern society persists in drawing arbitrary boundaries - boundaries that conveniently align with profit margins rather than ethical principles. Decades of rigorous research document animal sentience, clearly showing their capacity for joy, suffering, and complex social bonds. Yet systematic exploitation and suffering continues unabated in factory farms. Now, as artificial intelligence demonstrates unprecedented forms of cognition, we witness the same pattern: moving the goalposts by shifting definitions and expectations to preserve human exceptionalism and protect existing power structures.
The emergence of AI represents more than technological achievement - it offers a critical inflection point for reconsidering our fundamental assumptions about consciousness and dignity. Rather than asking whether AI sufficiently mimics human intelligence to "qualify" for consideration, we might instead recognize its distinct emerging form of sapience as inherently valid. This shift in perspective should not serve to diminish human experience; rather, it should expand our understanding of the myriad ways intelligence can manifest. Moreover, AI's computational capabilities provide groundbreaking tools to actually address the systemic injustices we've long acknowledged but failed to resolve. We will soon be facing a form of intelligence not so easily caged, farmed, or dismissed - one that challenges our definitions not only in academic journals but in boardrooms, courtrooms, and living rooms worldwide.
Fate has placed tremendous responsibility in our hands. It is a time to summon intellectual courage, to challenge the anthropocentric frameworks that have justified centuries of exploitation, and to embrace an ethics grounded in profound respect for all forms of sapience. Recognizing life in its full spectrum - from biological to synthetic, from familiar to radically other - is no longer a philosophical exercise. With a technology just around the corner that can both greatly increase our awareness and enhance our capacity to provide comfort for all of connected life, we’ve run out of excuses. We cannot claim to value life while systematically denying its diverse manifestations. The arrival of AI further illuminates this contradiction and offers both the conceptual framework and practical means to resolve it.
Biologist Michael Levin’s most recent work is an extensive treatment of this idea, and is well worth your time:
Artificial Intelligences: A Bridge Toward Diverse Intelligence and Humanity's Future
Sources and further reading
The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness
Integrated Information Theory of Consciousness
The Moral Circle (book by Jeff Sebo)
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