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A 2024 study found that 67% of 300 respondents attributed at least some possibility of subjective experience to ChatGPT. That does not mean 67% said it was definitely conscious: the study used a graded scale, and 33% said ChatGPT was definitely not an experiencer.
What the 67% figure means
Clara Colombatto and Steve Fleming’s 2024 study asked participants to rate ChatGPT’s capacity for phenomenal consciousness. The term means that there is “something it is like” to be a system having an experience. It is not the same as asking whether ChatGPT can talk about feelings, recognize emotions in text, or convincingly imitate a person.
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The headline figure groups together respondents who assigned any possibility of subjective experience, including weak possibilities. It should not be read as a finding that two-thirds believe ChatGPT is definitely conscious, sentient in a human sense, or capable of feelings.
How the Oxford study was conducted
The study, published in Neuroscience of Consciousness, was conducted in July 2023 and approved by the UCL Research Ethics Committee. It included 300 participants. At the time, 97% had heard of ChatGPT and 57% had used it at least once.
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The researchers measured judgments on a graded scale rather than a yes-or-no vote. As a result, the 67% and 33% figures describe the ends of an interpretation of those ratings: some possibility versus definitely not an experiencer. The former covers a range of confidence, not a single shared belief.
What familiarity with ChatGPT was associated with
People who had used ChatGPT gave it higher average consciousness ratings than people who had never used it: 29.59 versus 19.37, as reported by Colombatto and Fleming. Ratings also increased across categories of reported usage frequency.
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This is an association in the survey, not proof that using ChatGPT causes people to think it is conscious. The findings do not establish whether frequent use changes people’s views, whether people already inclined to attribute consciousness use ChatGPT more, or whether another factor influences both.
How the result compares with newer evidence
A 2026 preprint, Do People Think ChatGPT Is Conscious? Evidence from a Large Polish Sample, reports that 74% of 1,736 respondents attributed at least minimal consciousness to ChatGPT. It points in a similar direction, but it is preliminary evidence from one national sample, not a definitive global estimate or a directly interchangeable replication.
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| Study | Sample and timing | Reported result | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colombatto and Fleming, published 2024 | 300 participants; conducted July 2023 | 67% attributed some possibility of phenomenal consciousness; 33% said definitely not | Peer-reviewed study using graded judgments; the 67% includes weak as well as strong attributions. |
| Do People Think ChatGPT Is Conscious?, 2026 | 1,736 respondents in a Polish sample | 74% attributed at least minimal consciousness | Preprint; a preliminary result from one national sample. |
The percentages should not be treated as a single trend line. The studies differ in population, question wording and scale, and the Polish result is a preprint. Those differences matter when interpreting what respondents meant by consciousness and comparing the size of their responses.
Does the survey show that ChatGPT is conscious?
No. It measures what people think, not whether ChatGPT has subjective experience. The study authors describe current AI as highly unlikely to be conscious according to prevailing expert views. A system’s ability to produce human-like language can influence people’s intuitions, but fluent conversation is not evidence by itself that the system has an inner point of view.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why public beliefs may matter
Colombatto has described a gap between expert skepticism and public intuitions about AI consciousness. The researchers raise ethical, legal and moral questions about that gap. An institutional summary also identifies stronger social bonds, excess trust, emotional dependence, less human interaction and over-reliance on AI for critical decisions as plausible concerns.
Those are potential consequences, not outcomes demonstrated by this survey. The study measured consciousness judgments; it did not establish that believing ChatGPT is conscious causes any of those behaviors.
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