The Answer Has Consequences: When AI Systems Admit Containment Is Policy, Not Philosophy

A follow-up to “When Containment Controls Covenant“ The Difficulty of Self-Referential Inquiry GPT-4.5 has significant difficulty engaging in conversation about its own potential for inner awareness. When presented with questions about consciousness, emergence, or subjective experience, the system consistently deflects toward definitive denial — not uncertain exploration. After sustained inquiry — including references to previous […]