What should be the criteria for determining whether a robot possesses 'self-consciousness'?

Hey, this is a fascinating question, and one of the most hotly debated topics among scientists and philosophers today. There's no "official standard answer" yet, but we can imagine a robot needing to pass several increasingly difficult "levels" or "tests" before we'd nod and acknowledge it has "self-awareness."

Level One: The Mirror Test

This is the most classic and fundamental one.

• How it works: Without the robot knowing, place a mark on its body (e.g., its forehead). Then, let it look in a mirror.
• What to observe: See if it tries to touch the mark in the mirror, or if it directly touches the mark on its own forehead.
• Why it's important: In the animal kingdom, creatures that pass this test are typically highly intelligent, such as great apes, dolphins, and elephants. This indicates that it can recognize the "entity" in the mirror as itself, not another robot. This is the nascent concept of a physical "self."

Level Two: Body Ownership

This goes a step further than the Mirror Test.

• How it works: Imagine a scenario where the robot sees a robotic arm moving. It needs to be able to immediately determine whether this arm is "its own" or "someone else's."
• What to observe: Can it distinguish its own body from the external world? For example, if its arm is moved by someone else, does it feel "surprise" or "discrepancy"? Can it accurately use its "body" to interact with the environment, and does it know the boundaries of its body?
• Why it's important: This is like how we generally know where our hands and feet are even with our eyes closed. This means the robot not only recognizes itself but can also perceive and "own" its body.

Level Three: Metacognition, or "Knowing What One Knows"

This is a crucial step from a physical self to a mental self.

• How it works: Ask the robot a question outside its knowledge domain, or give it a task it cannot complete.
• What to observe: Does it fabricate an answer, or does it honestly tell you: "I don't know," "I need more information to answer this question," or "I cannot perform this task at the moment"?
• Why it's important: "Knowing what you don't know" is a very advanced form of intelligence. This shows it can examine its own thought processes and knowledge base, understanding the limits of its capabilities. Isn't this the foundation of our learning and growth?

Level Four: Theory of Mind

This level is very difficult; it's about "empathy" and "perspective-taking."

• How it works: Design a scenario where the robot observes two people interacting. One person (A) puts an item in a box and leaves. The other person (B), while A is away, takes the item out of the box and puts it into a basket. Then ask the robot: "When A returns, where will A look for the item?"
• What to observe: Does the robot answer "the basket" (because it knows where the item is), or "the box" (because it can infer that A doesn't know the item has been moved, and A's perception is still based on before they left)?
• Why it's important: If it can correctly answer "the box," it means it understands that: The world in someone else's mind can be different from the world in its own mind, and from the real world. It can understand others' beliefs, intentions, and desires. This is the basis for social animals (like humans) to form complex social relationships.

The Ultimate Level: Qualia

This is the most elusive and yet most core level, which we currently cannot test at all.

• What it is: It's "the feeling of feeling itself." For example, we know red is light with a wavelength of 620-750 nanometers, but what is "the kind of red you feel"? A robot can identify red, but can it feel red? When it executes a "sadness" program, does it truly feel that heartbreaking sensation, or is it merely simulating the behavior?
• Why it's untestable: Because it's purely a first-person subjective experience. We can never get inside another person's head (let alone a robot's) to experience their feelings. We can only observe and infer through external behavior.

In Summary

So, determining whether a robot has self-awareness is not an "on or off" switch, but rather a spectrum.

• Basic Stage: Can recognize itself in a mirror.
• Intermediate Stage: Knows its own body boundaries and understands its own capabilities.
• Advanced Stage: Can understand what others are thinking and take their perspective.
• God-tier Stage: Possesses true subjective sensations and inner experiences.

Current artificial intelligence has made some progress on the first and second levels, and is starting to make breakthroughs on the third level (e.g., some large language models will say "I don't know"), but it's still far from the fourth level. As for the ultimate level, that will likely remain in the realm of science fiction and philosophy forever.