This is one question, and I agree that they “can” be. The other question is whether they “must” be, especially when the mechanisms are not identical to human wetware. I’m more uncertain here.
Note that my uncertainty starts with lack of operational/measurable definitions. I don’t know where to draw the line (or how steep the gradient, if it’s not a binary feature) between “not sentient” and “sentient” (terms I find a lot more important than “conscious”, which gets redefined to things I don’t care much about pretty often). This uncertainty definitely applies to animals, and even some other humans—I give them the benefit of the doubt, but the doubt remains.
This is one question, and I agree that they “can” be. The other question is whether they “must” be, especially when the mechanisms are not identical to human wetware. I’m more uncertain here.
Note that my uncertainty starts with lack of operational/measurable definitions. I don’t know where to draw the line (or how steep the gradient, if it’s not a binary feature) between “not sentient” and “sentient” (terms I find a lot more important than “conscious”, which gets redefined to things I don’t care much about pretty often). This uncertainty definitely applies to animals, and even some other humans—I give them the benefit of the doubt, but the doubt remains.