Melanie Challenger Says 2 in 3 People Misread AI as Conscious, Undermining Embodied Intelligence
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 30
Melanie Challenger Says 2 in 3 People Misread AI as Conscious, Undermining Embodied Intelligence
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 30
Summary
Two-thirds of respondents in a recent study believe tools like ChatGPT have some consciousness or feeling, a sign Melanie Challenger says AI is deepening “somatophobia” — the idea that mind can exist apart from the body.
Challenger argues intelligence is inseparable from biological embodiment, citing grounded cognition, Damasio’s somatic-marker work and research showing the brain constantly regulates signals from the heart, gut and lungs.
That body-denying mindset already has social and physical costs, she writes: working 55 hours a week is linked to a 35% higher stroke risk, while WHO said in 2024 nearly one-third of adults missed activity targets.
A 2025 social-connection report found 1 in 6 people worldwide affected by loneliness, which Challenger presents as another consequence of treating humans as information processors rather than dependent, sensory, social bodies.
Her broader claim is that AI is pattern-mimicking software, not meaningful intelligence, and that mistaking information for life distorts medicine, labor, hierarchy and humanity’s relationship with other living beings.