I think the experiments you describe on humans is a reasonable start, but that you would then need to ask: “Why did suffering evolve as a distinct sensation from pain?” I don’t think you can determine the function of suffering without being able to answer that. Then you could look at other systems and see if something with the same functionality exists. I think that’s how you could generalize to both other animals and AI.
I think the experiments you describe on humans is a reasonable start, but that you would then need to ask: “Why did suffering evolve as a distinct sensation from pain?” I don’t think you can determine the function of suffering without being able to answer that. Then you could look at other systems and see if something with the same functionality exists. I think that’s how you could generalize to both other animals and AI.