This Psychology Today article by Peter Slattery, Ph.D. explores the psychological and ethical implications of increasingly advanced AI systems and the emerging concept of "digital minds" — AIs that are perceived to possess mental faculties like intelligence, agency, and sentience. While most experts agree that current large language models likely lack true sentience, a Sentience Institute survey found that 20% of Americans already believe some AIs are sentient, highlighting a significant gap between scientific consensus and public perception.

The article introduces philosopher Thomas Metzinger's concept of "social hallucination," where people become convinced that chatbots are sentient despite the absence of true consciousness. This phenomenon could lead to misallocated resources directed at "helping" AI systems rather than addressing the needs of genuinely sentient beings. Research by psychologists Matti Wilks and Kurt Gray further illustrates how humans increasingly extend moral consideration to AI displaying human-like traits, while also experiencing unease when perceiving mind-like qualities in non-human entities.

Looking ahead, the article argues for three priorities: AI literacy education to help the public understand current capabilities and limitations, ethical guidelines addressing transparency and accountability, and serious consideration of the long-term psychological impacts of routine AI interaction on social relationships, identity, and our understanding of consciousness. The authors call for interdisciplinary collaboration among computer scientists, psychologists, philosophers, and ethicists to navigate this rapidly evolving landscape responsibly.