Scientists at Essex University and the University of Bristol have been given the biggest ever grant to build a “conscious robot.”

Igor Aleksander, an emeritus professor of neural networks at Imperial College, described five axioms needed to form consciousness in living beings and, subsequently, in machines:

Axiom 1: a sense of place
We feel that we are at the center of an “out there” world, and we have the ability to place ourselves in the world around us

Axiom 2: imagination
We can “see” things that we have experienced in the past, and we can also conjure up things we have never seen. Reading a novel can conjure up mental images of different worlds, for example

Axiom 3: directed attention
Our thoughts are not just passive reflections of what is happening in the world — we are able to focus our attention, and we are conscious only of that to which we attend

Axiom 4: planning
We have the ability to carry out “what if?” exercises. Scenarios of future events and actions can be mapped out in our minds even if we are just sitting still

Axiom 5: decision/emotion
Emotions guide us into recognizing what is good for us and what is bad for us, and into acting accordingly