Whether non-living systems can possess consciousness remains a contested topic, divided between philosophical theories like panpsychism that attribute experience to all matter and empirical assessments of artificial systems showing that current non-living architectures lack genuine consciousness.
The claim is specific and empirical/philosophical, passing Step 0. The literature is divided: some theoretical frameworks (panpsychism, speculative realism) and forward-looking AI assessments argue that non-living systems can possess or theoretically achieve consciousness. Conversely, current empirical evaluations of AI find no present consciousness, and theories like Integrated World Modeling Theory argue that mere information processing in non-living substrates is insufficient without specific biological or agentic reference frames. Thus, the verdict is CONTESTED.