No: computers can't be conscious [6]
Machines can't have subjective experiences. Machines can't consciously perceive, feel, or remember anything. And, because consciousness is necessary for thought, machines can't think either.

Robert Horn Map 6: Do Computers Have to be Conscious to Think?
A full-sized version of the original can be ordered here.

The questions explored on Map 6 – Do computers have to be conscious to think? are:

  • Can computers be conscious?
  • Is consciousness necessary for thought?
  • Is the consciousness requirement solipsistic?
  • Can higher-order representations produce consciousness?
  • Can functional states generate consciousness?
  • Does physicalism show that computers can be conscious?
  • Does the connection principle show that consciousness is necessary for thought?

Note: The relation between consciousness, thinking and mentality is itself a subject of debate, some of which is represented in the argumentation around this position.
CONTEXT(Help)
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Artificial Intelligence Â»Artificial Intelligence
Can computers think? [1] Â»Can computers think? [1]
No: computers can't be conscious [6]
Can never have a conscious experience Â»Can never have a conscious experience
Computers are not introspective Â»Computers are not introspective
Computers can't have feelings Â»Computers can't have feelings
Consciousness excluded by definition Â»Consciousness excluded by definition
Consciousness is necessary to thought Â»Consciousness is necessary to thought
Mechanisms can't possess consciousness Â»Mechanisms can't possess consciousness
Consciousness is physical Â»Consciousness is physical
Higher-order representational structures Â»Higher-order representational structures
Implementable in functional system Â»Implementable in functional system
Let's just say robots are conscious Â»Let's just say robots are conscious
Rejection has undesirable consequences Â»Rejection has undesirable consequences
Rule following doesn't deny consciousness Â»Rule following doesn't deny consciousness
ACME Â»ACME
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