If mental activity is physical activity, then we should be able to figure it out. I wouldn't say that that's easy, and i too would be highly skeptical of simple brain scans. All i'm saying is that this is an answerable question, and i would put my money on that we'll see that they are not aware of themselves.
Why do you exist? How did atoms and molecules transform into sentient creatures that experience longing, regret, compassion, and even marvel at their own existence? What does it truly mean to have a mind―to think? Science has offered few answers to these existential questions until now.
Michael Shermer speaks with computational neuroscientist, Ogi Ogas, about his unified account of the mind that explains how consciousness, language, self-awareness, and civilization arose incrementally out of chaos, and how leading cities and nation-states are developing “superminds,” and perhaps planting the seeds for even higher forms of consciousness.