@torvalds If you're serious and not just venting, I suspect Karl Friston has a lot to say about that. At least in the sense that there is a qualitative difference that can be quantified. But using quotes around the C-word sounds like reserving license to move the goalposts.
That said, *I* do mean something specific and quantifiable when I criticize the consciousness of ML models, and it's based in Friston's work.