Machine Consciousness (MC) is a term used in the fields of artificial intelligence, digital society and robots. It describes the idea that machines are not only "smart", but can also develop a consciousness - similar to humans. This means that a machine would be aware of its own existence, its environment and perhaps even its feelings.
Let's assume a robot in a care home knows that it looks sad at the moment, recognises its own limitations and can "think" about its actions. Machines are currently very good at calculating, learning and solving tasks, but they don't really know that they are doing anything. Machine Consciousness would be a step further: machines would have an inner experience, could think about themselves and consciously make their own decisions.
We are still a long way from computers or robots having such a consciousness. But researchers are discussing a lot about how and whether machine consciousness can be achieved at all - and what that would mean for us as a society. One thing is clear: MC would be a major technological and ethical revolution.
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