The Embodiment of Consciousness vs. AI: An Analysis of M. Challenger's Concepts

The article analyzes Melanie Challenger's approach to consciousness, defining it not as a computer program, but as an advanced stage of biological self-regulation. The author opposes the computational metaphor with the idea of 'knowing with the body' (sensus communis), where cognition is inextricably linked to the organism's physiological survival. The text emphasizes the difference between functional data processing and phenomenal experience, pointing to the key role of interoception in shaping subjectivity. In the face of AI development, this analysis raises fundamental questions about the limits of agency and the nature of consciousness, which for living beings is not an abstract operation, but a process deeply rooted in biology and the concern for one's own existence.