[cellular]

Pain.

I haven't publicly stated this before now: Consciousness requires the ability to perceive PAIN.

All human learning is based upon the single kernel of pain (vs pleasure).

A newborn is hungry or cold and cried. It learned to cry. It learned to smile. Eventually, delayed gratification lead to less pain (more pleasure).

The rest is human history.

[itsalwaysgood]

For sure, pain is useful when it leads to learning. We learn through feedback from our senses. We're completely dependent upon this mode in the beginning.

As our brains mature, we learn how to predict our environments in ways to maximize pleasure, and avoid pain (grossly oversimplified). We learn more about others, what works, and what doesn't.

An AI also learns from feedback, but is it ever perceiving anything?

[cellular]

Consciousness is unprovably true.