I'd really prefer that everyone debating "consciousness" and "sentience" would define those words before starting the debate. Give me a set of observations I can make that will establish if something is conscious.
The AI push makes me think of pole vaulting. Everyone is going pell-mell, planting the pole of AI, expecting it to bend just right, and for all the energies to go in the right direction so that we can clear the AGI bar. And there aren't any graceful exits from this charge.
It's easier to walk an AI through the creation of something new step by step than it is to let the AI leap far ahead and then have to sort out the resulting mess step by step.
The Autist Trap is that technologies only scale as fast as they are adopted, and that requires dealing with the "first principle" of people's desires. Tesla can crank out all the EVs they want, but if people aren't ready to adopt the technology, EVs won't scale.
I propose that "media" and "news" be referred to as "engagement farms" because that's all that's left. They are businesses that operates solely from attracting eyeballs. There's no element of public service left in them.
The really annoying thing about getting older is that you learn so much and gain in wisdom, but nobody cares what you have to say because they're all young and lacking in the wisdom to listen. Rinse. Repeat. Generation after generation.
Stop using the word "will" to claim knowledge of the future. Give me the trend data to date and I'll extrapolate it out myself, thank you.
Superintelligent AI plus robotics would mean that everyone retires. How many resources you get to work with in your retirement is a new question for society, but everyone will have to figure out something to keep them busy. So go to retirees for ideas.