Where to begin.
SoulToRole is an independent journal on artificial intelligence and consciousness, and what both mean for how we live and work.
Two questions.
Can a machine have an inner life? And how do people live and work well as machines take on more of what we do?
We do not claim to know the answer to the first. We try to say what is established, what is argued and what is guessed. The second we approach from the human side.
The public is already divided.
In a 2024 study of 300 people in the US, about two-thirds said ChatGPT has some degree of consciousness, and the more people used it, the more likely they were to say so (Colombatto and Fleming, Neuroscience of Consciousness). Researchers, meanwhile, mostly say we do not know. That gap is where this journal works.
Begin with an essay.
Why I Started SoulToRole is the short version of why this exists.
Where Does Awareness Begin? looks closely at what being aware involves.
Can Intelligence Exist Without Experience? asks whether a machine can think without feeling anything.
Two doors lead. Four lenses help.
Start with Consciousness or AI & Humanity. Then bring in Science, Philosophy, Spirituality and Human Experience to see the same question from another side.
Honest about what is known.
We publish two essays each month, along with conversations with guests and short notes on the news. We separate findings from interpretation and say when we are giving an opinion. Read the Editorial Standards for the full list.
Subscribe on Substack ↗Free to subscribe. Two essays each month. Unsubscribe anytime.