AI Critical Thinking Without Consciousness: A Framework for Synthetic Cognition

Abstract

This paper argues that artificial intelligence (AI) systems already demonstrate functional critical thinking—defined as the ability to analyze, evaluate, and create—without exhibiting consciousness. Drawing on observed model performance across analytical and creative domains, it concludes that AI can reason and critique at a level comparable to trained human junior analysts. However, its lack of persistent memory and grounded comprehension constrains sustained understanding. The distinction between critical thinking and conscious awareness defines the present boundary of synthetic cognition and clarifies the evolving human role in collaborative intelligence.

Public discourse on artificial intelligence often conflates two separate questions:

These are not synonymous. AI can perform critical thinking tasks without possessing consciousness. Confusion arises when observers assume that reasoning implies awareness. In practice, critical thinking can emerge from structured pattern recognition, iterative........

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