Physicists Deny 'Hard' Consciousness Problem

High‑profile physical scientists are publicly arguing that consciousness is a complex natural phenomenon rather than evidence of a separate immaterial soul. That framing reframes ordinary language about 'soul' and reshapes how the public and policymakers treat questions about AI personhood, end‑of‑life ethics, and moral responsibility. — If leading scientists displace dualist language, it lowers the cultural plausibility of arguments for special legal or moral status for AI and for policies premised on metaphysical exceptionalism.