[martythemaniak]

This is a good thought experiment, and I have a related one: Imagine you are sitting in a stadium full of your ancestors. You're at field level, beside you is your mom, beside her in your grandpa, beside him your great-grandma, and on until the stadium is full. Somewhere near the top is your great^100,000 parent, some kind of australopithecus ape-like creature. Where in this stadium will you draw the line and say "this is a person, sentient, conscious, deserving of legal rights, but the parent sitting next to them is an animal"

It's impossible to draw such a sharp line, because the boundaries of consciousness are extremely fuzzy. We should expect the same fuzzyness of AI and this period will likely last many generations of AI.

[sdwr]

This is a reasonable idea, and I have a addition: Imagine you are standing in front of a line of tennis players. On one end is Federer, Nadal, etc. The line moves through the top 100, 200, and continues down to regular club people.

At what point do you draw the line between a great player and a good one?

Clearly there are skills and aptitudes involved, but it ultimately comes down to the vagaries of fate. Consciousness, like tennis prowess, is

bestowed / earned / fought for / learned

as much as it is innate.