The idea for this comic came from an interview with Geoffrey Hinton. He made the analogy between "consciousness" and "oomph". Both words have an intuitive meaning and allow us to talk about these really complex topics on an abstract level, almost as if we understand them. Yet, they are nearly impossible to define and ultimately not useful if you want to really get into the details of the topic. I would like to add a third word into the mix with very similar properties: "love".

Panel 1:
Bird News present: Expert Talk. Today: AI.
Panel 2:
Anchor bird is talking to Prof. Owl on the phone.
A: Welcome to expert talk. Today we’re talking to the head researcher at an AI lab, that just released a new AI.
Panel 3:
A: Is your AI conscious?
O: That depends on how you define consciousness ...
A: You tell me! You are the expert after all.
Panel 4:
A: Also: An AI analyst recently said that your AIs could never be conscious. Can you comment on that?
O: Well, it’s complicated ...
Panel 5:
Bird News present: Expert Talk. Today: Cars.
Panel 6:
Anchor bird is talking to some seagull on the phone.
A: Welcome to expert talk. Today we’re talking to the CEO of a car company, that just released a new sports car.
Panel 7:
A: Does your car have oomph?
S: Ahm ... what exactly is “oomph”?
A: You tell me! You are the expert after all.
Panel 8:
A: Also: A car analyst recently said that your cars could never have oomph. Can you comment on that?
S: Do you also have real questions?