NEWS & VIEWS • MARCH 2026 25 – Rob Thompson – Assistant General Manager – Artificial Intelligence (AI) certainly appears to have secured a top position in the news, social media and general conversation. From countless TED talks on the topic – through to AI-enhanced videos on YouTube – through to students handing in AI generated essays – through to uninvited AI minute-takers on Teams' meetings – through to AI bots on coldcalls selling insurance – through to AI writing NCT News and Views articles (kidding), AI is definitely well on its way to infiltrating literally every aspect of our lives. What happens when the tech-driven race towards Super AI gains traction? What can we expect when Super AI successfully commences with the design of ever more powerful iterations of itself? What will the role of humankind be once literally every event / fact / discovery / speculation is anticipated and made accessible to all? One specific talk I listened to suggested an answer to that question which did not engender much comfort. The speaker simply said: ”We’re doomed!” Or are we? Of late, I have been thinking of the concept of “sentience” quite a lot. This was not triggered by any AI-related discussion but stemmed from a rather tragic incident that I witnessed whilst recently travelling through the Golden Gate Highland National Park. A twitchy aggressive driver behind me had developed an insatiable interest in my exhaust pipe judging by the distance he kept between himself and the rear of my vehicle. I gave him space to pass, and the cretin roared past and disappeared over the hill. As I summited the hill, I saw that the vehicle had struck a baboon infant in the road leaving it lifeless on the tarmac. Of course, the vehicle was nowhere to be seen having abandoned the scene. The bereaved troop had immediately fanned out in defensive mode, and a huge male made a dash into the road to retrieve the infant, whilst guarded on both flanks by his chattering lieutenants. The anger and sadness reflected in the eyes of the members of that baboon troop permeated ones inner being and memory of the incident has remained ever since. The event drove home to me the fact that these creatures are indeed sentient beings. Wikipedia (or is that AI?) tells us that "sentience" is defined as the ability to feel or perceive sensations (e.g. pain, pleasure, emotions) and have subjective experiences (phenomenal consciousness). Most animals are considered sentient to varying degrees. The baboon troop that I had encountered displayed emotions in bucket loads confirming them to be sentient beasts. On top of that however, there was another noticeable attribute. They displayed cognitive reasoning. The defensive positioning that they adopted and the tactical approach towards retrieving the victim from danger, were clear illustrations of these creatures possessing a higher intellect and reasoning ability. This observation led me down another rabbit hole which ultimately ended up with the discovery of the concept of sapience. s sapience
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