AI may need to feel pain?
Artificial superintelligence may need to experience pain in order to develop true understanding and ethical decision-making. Some researchers argue that without a sense of suffering or consequence, AI may struggle to grasp human emotions or morality. By simulating pain, AI could learn boundaries, develop empathy, and make more responsible choices, similar to how humans learn through experience.
Certain AI models already use reinforcement learning, where they adapt based on positive or negative outcomes. Expanding this to include a digital form of pain could help AI recognize harm and avoid actions that could be dangerous or unethical. This idea raises deep questions about consciousness, responsibility, and whether AI should ever be designed to feel discomfort at all.
