Scientists are pushing a new paradigm of animal consciousness, saying even insects could be conscious

Bees play by rolling wooden balls – apparently for fun. The cleaner wrasse appears to recognize its own face in an underwater mirror. Octopuses appear to respond to anesthetics and will avoid environments where they are likely to have experienced pain. All three of these discoveries have been made in the past five years – … Read more

Worried about Sentient AI? Consider the Octopus

A two-month-old octopus (Octupus Vulagaris) tries to unscrew the lid of a jar to get at the contents, a crab, June 23, 2004 at the Danish Aquarium in Copenhagen. The one and a half kilo, half meter long Mediterranean animal did not succeed this time, but according to biologist Anders Uldal it did succeed once. … Read more