The development of machine consciousness is a goal that is seen as the ultimate challenge in the field of artificial intelligence, according to Hod Lipson, the mechanical engineer in charge of the Creative Machines Lab at Columbia University. Consciousness is a controversial topic within the field of AI, and has been a contentious issue for a long time, with scientists divided on the possibility of creating machines that have consciousness on par with a human. Lipson believes that creating a machine that has consciousness on par with a human will be the most significant achievement in the field of AI and will eclipse everything else that has been done so…