"Can a machine have a soul?"
As AI becomes more advanced, we face a profound question: Can a silicon-based computer ever truly be conscious? Can it 'feel' pain or joy, or is it just a complex calculator simulating these emotions?
Alan Turing proposed a functional approach: If a human cannot distinguish a machine from another human in a text conversation, the machine should be considered intelligent. If it acts conscious, it is conscious.
John Searle countered with the Chinese Room argument. A person in a room with a rulebook can perfectly translate Chinese without understanding a word. Similarly, AI manipulates symbols (0s and 1s) based on syntax (rules) without understanding semantics (meaning). It has no Qualia—the subjective experience of 'what it is like' to be.