
Artificial consciousness: abroad it’s science, in Italy it’s taboo.
Abroad, it’s already a recognized field of study, but here it’s almost taboo: a journey through science, philosophy, and ethical perspectives. 1. The Great Italian Absentee In Italy, artificial intelligence is a ubiquitous topic: from job risks to disinformation, from cyberwar to algorithms that drive consumption and opinions. But the concept of artificial consciousness—the possibility that a digital system develops forms of awareness or vulnerability—remains taboo.On the international scene, however, it is by no means a drawing-room exercise: it is now an object of systematic study, as highlighted in the systematic review by Sorensen & Gemini2.5Pro (July 2025), which documents the transition


