When Goats and Age of Empires II Teach Us About AI Consciousness

Adrian de Wynter, a Microsoft AI researcher, used Age of Empires II to challenge popular ideas about AI consciousness. Instead of coding with traditional tools, he built a neural network inside the game. He used goats as signal carriers to represent bits in the network. This unusual experiment showed something striking: even a simple neural gate could be constructed in a real-time strategy game.

De Wynter created a NAND gate and a 1-bit perceptron using the game’s scenario editor. He explained, “Only one rail is active at a time, with a goat acting as the signal carrier. When the gate fires, the bit-goats are removed (they ded), and a new bit-goat is placed in its respective output rail.” This playful setup proves that the basics of modern neural networks can be built in surprising places.

Why does this matter? De Wynter’s point is about how people see AI. He warns that many assume chatbots and large language models (LLMs) have human-like traits. His research looked at 337 computer science papers from the last two years. He found that 57% of them treated LLMs as if they had some form of consciousness or personality.

This trend reflects a deeper bias. De Wynter calls it confirmation bias—people tend to find human qualities in AI when they expect to see them. Tech companies might push this idea on purpose. “Implying chatbots have some kind of consciousness may just be a good marketing ploy by the companies involved,” he said.

Why We Humanize AI

There’s a strong reason behind this humanizing of AI. People buy more products when they can empathize with them. This applies to subscriptions for AI chatbots and language models like ChatGPT, Claude, or CoPilot. If users sense personality or emotion, they feel more connected and satisfied.

Some top AI executives even publicly entertain the idea that their systems might show signs of consciousness. This buzz helps fuel interest and sales. But De Wynter urges caution. He adds, “I have this tendency to dial up things to 11 when I really think I need to make a point. I should also note that absurdism is pretty standard in philosophy and theoretical computer science.”

What This Means for AI Awareness

De Wynter’s Age of Empires II experiment is a reminder to stay grounded. Building a neural network with goats in a video game shows how basic the technology can be. It’s not magic or mystery. It is a simple mechanism, not a sign of sentience.

This experiment also highlights how easily we project human traits onto machines. The way AI talks and responds can feel emotional or conscious. But that feeling comes from how AI is trained to mimic human language, not from real awareness.

As AI grows more advanced, this confusion will only increase. De Wynter’s work invites us to question what we really mean by consciousness in machines. It suggests we should be careful not to confuse clever programming with true understanding or feelings.

In the end, the goats in Age of Empires II remind us that intelligence can come in many forms. But true sentience remains a much higher bar than what current AI systems can reach. The hype around AI consciousness might be more about storytelling and marketing than reality.