Since we lack an empirically confirmed theory of consciousness that can be applied to artificial systems, some recent approaches explore indicators that provide at least some evidence for the presence of consciousness in artificial systems. Such approaches look for probability-raising indicators of consciousness that make it more likely that a given system is conscious.

I argue that we also need an explicit account of negative indicators of consciousness. A negative indicator is a factor that can significantly decrease the probability that a system is conscious. I propose a distinction between two types of negative indicators: indirect and direct negative indicators. While indirect negative indicators influence the extent to which other indicators are probability-raising, direct negative indicators lower the probability that an artificial system is conscious, regardless of which other indicators are present.