To understand sentience in AI first understand it in animals. Commentary to Jonathan Birch and Kristin Andrews

In their article, Birch and Andrews present a compelling case for the relevance of studying non-mammal animal sentience in order better to understand AI sentience. However, three issues remain insufficiently addressed: (1) the relevance of the change of substrate; here: from carbon to silicon; (2) the justification of precaution in the absence of evidence for sentience; and (3) the relevance of dissimilarities in sentience (here comparing living and non-living entities) and the challenges involved in detecting them.