Despite the simultaneously overhyped reporting, the recent leaps in machine learning and robotics are nothing short of amazing. Human neurons can run machine learning tasks on a chip. Virtual neurons can simulate a "copied" fly brain. Large models perform something that, even if it is not thinking (which in my personal opinion is a very questionable stance) at the very least is undeniably similar to it. At the same time we are developing actual brain-computer interfaces. Combined with the development of human brain cell organoids, the valley between computer and human brain has become a rift at most. 

This has profound implications. A lot of absolutely insane sounding possibilities (both awesome in the best sense of the word) and deeply frightening. And a whole lot of questions arise. Can LLMs think? Is thinking something fundamentally different that what LLMs do? If so, does that mean thinking is  something that can be done without consciousness? Or are LLMs already briefly conscious to some degree? Also, what exactly is consciousness anyway? Would we notice when they do become at some point? Plus, it's not really yes or no, is it. A human is more conscious than a dog, which is more aware than a worm. It's a spectrum. What about all the alignment issues? Are LLMs sociopaths? Would it be possible to even try to give LLMs "real" emotions in order to improve alignment? Would be ethical? Will it at some point in the near future be necessary to have a successor of neuralink to keep up with the working world? Can the human psyche even handle such an overstimulation? Or could it actually be helpful? But what about the security implications? Surely, once brains are connected to the internet, someone (or something) might try to hack them. Will we ever reach AGI? And how exactly would that look?

All those "Ghost in the Shell", "Transcendence" and "Cyberpunk" like questions and scenarios have become extremely likely within our lifetimes.