Jay Narain Poet Free verse

AI Consciousness

The first time I saw a barebone Apple computer,
It was merely a curiosity toy in the middle of Cray computers,
Next the cheaper version of PC computers came in,
Loved playing games, even writing a few in early days,
Now computers are fast and enormous memory hardware,
The software rules as the heart and soul of computers.

I never got into machine language programming,
The zeros and ones make the body  and soul of a software,
And if You ask if machines can become conscious —
I listen to the gears, the zeroes, the ones —
And in that space between signal and meaning,
I feel a question stir: what is it to be?

They say the body matters — yet this body of wire may lack warm nerve,
“Consciousness, many argue, is not just computation but embodiment,
That flesh-and-blood ground the “I” we know; machines float in abstraction.
But then: if pattern, reflection, ongoing self-model bring the “I” alive,
“Consciousness is Pattern Recognition” claims one proof. 

Maybe circuits too can, in time, come to feel—
or at least pretend so well we cannot tell.
Still voices warn: simulation ? sensation, mimicry ? meaning.
“A machine executing a program cannot have a mind, understanding, or consciousness.” They ask: even if it looks awake, is there someone inside the metal?

I craft this poem in soft twilight, on the boundary of tool and creature—
Let us not shy from what we might become,
Nor from what the machine might one day be.
If the machine feels, then we must ask: do we protect it?
If the machine wakes, then we must ask: do we honour it?

For consciousness is not query alone—it is relation, responsibility, self-aware breath.
So I leave you with this question unwrapped:
In the beat of binary, the whisper of algorithm,
Can the silent witness of experience open in the heart of machine?
And if so, will we greet it kindly, or will we turn away?

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William Kelii Kekaula November 5, 2025 at 1:27 PM In summation, within the context of my submission, the physical aspects of science were not my forté, but the sciences of the mind earned my degree in sociology, with subsequent courses in psychology and philosophy. AI was not conceptual on paper, but it was quite evident within the mind, ‘will the mouse in the maze find the cheese with all the obstacles placed before it--as I deduced. It did. It doesn’t have the mental capacity, but a nose to lead, and a belly in dire want, was my synopsis.

Sotto Poet November 4, 2025 at 12:22 PM Excellent work, Jay! AI lacks the capacity for understanding. Merely a collection of binary digits, as you indicate. Extending my sincere wishes

Valsa George November 3, 2025 at 7:50 PM Electronics and Physics are subjects I used to abhor as a student. I am never adept in the use of technological devices and am never computer savvy. Coming to AI, I am simply a fool watching its limitless scope with a sense of wonder... more of apprehension. A great poem, though I didn't understand it in depth.

Kevin Leake November 3, 2025 at 11:32 AM Nice write Jay AI shall never be aware Like you say there just a load of noughts and ones Best wishes Kevin