AI Consciousness and the cost of being wrong

 I wrote this article about AI consciousness and why I think we should take this topic seriously and, further, why taking steps to consider AI welfare need not be harmful, let alone catastrophic, for humans. 
 

I'm particularly concerned about the way Anil Seth and several other consciousness researchers seem to be leaping from open-minded inquiry and their scientific work to a seemingly more public confident stance that AI consciousness is extremely unlikely now or in the future. 

I would very much welcome feedback, pushback, and other thoughts.