[hntrader]

I don't want to create machines that feel. I'm saying that if it is possible, then it becomes a profoundly important ethical question.

It's a matter of debate in philosophy of mind as to whether it's plausible that hardware can possibly have qualia, or whether that's a property that's exclusive to wetware. I personally think it's quite likely that they will be able to, I don't see anything intrinsically special about wetware that's necessary for the generation of qualia.