Insight into Anatta

Making It Possible for AI to Become Self-aware

It is easy to make AI have consciousness in the sense of qualia. But it is impossible to

make AI become self-aware unless we discover how self-consciousness arises.
Vipassana provides a way to figure out the mystery.

As the cornerstone of Buddhism, anattā (Pali) has always been a perplexing and
controversial thesis. In Theravada Buddhism, anattā primarily refers to the doctrine of
“non-self” that no unchanging, permanent self can be found in any person, which is
also called pudgala-nairatmya (Sanskrit). Instead, the individual person consists of
five aggregates that are constantly changing.

An ideal interpretation of "non-self" should be able to answer two questions

simultaneously: what is the essence of "non-self" and how does the illusion of self
arise? Obviously, the illusion of self is just self-consciousness.

In a previous paper (“The Science behind Buddhist Meditation”), I have proposed that
the nature of vipassana is enhanced awareness induced in Buddhist meditation (after
samadhi), which makes contemplating the five aggregates possible, just like
“watching” a slow-motion film.

According to the empirical materials of Theravada Buddhism, if we regard each

aggregate as an “awareness” which is the state of being conscious of something, then
contemplating the five aggregates would reveal the existence of “awareness of
awareness”. For instance, when one feels happy, one knows that one is happy. (Note
that feeling happy is not the same as knowing that one feels happy.)
Furthermore, inspired by Ajahn Brahm’s insightful “fruit salad simile” which
describes his experiences in Theravada Buddhist meditation, I develop an original
model to interpret “non-self” by introducing “awareness of awareness” out of the
framework of the five aggregates and highlighting the role of it: contemplating the
five aggregates would discern that “awareness of awareness” arises a moment after
each aggregate and they do not appear simultaneously.

Thus, one may realize that the notion that there is a constant self experiencing all
aggregates just results from “awareness of awareness” appearing between any two
aggregates, something that under ordinary conditions happens very quickly. (That's
like a torch spinning so fast that it looks like a ring of fire.) This would lead to the
insight of “non-self” which means no subject of awareness (or consciousness) at all.
Intrinsically, the illusion that there is a self underlying the five aggregates means a
two-tier and parallel relationship like that of Cartesian Theatre or "I think, therefore I
am". However, the slowing down of “speed” in vipassana reveals that the reality is a
one-tier and serial relationship.

Obviously, the illusion of self is just self-consciousness, while the concept of

“awareness of awareness” is similar to Sartre’s “pre-reflective self-consciousness”.
Adding “awareness of awareness” into the programing of AI would make it possible
for AI to become self-aware. The sense of self just emerges out of the process of
alternating of “aggregates” (or “awareness”) and “awareness of awareness”.