Of course, the biggest issue that the industry runs into with the question of consciousness -- you know, other than the technological challenge that it would undoubtedly be -- is the fact that, well, concept itself doesn't really have a firm definition, in the field or beyond it. Philosophically, consciousness is vague and debatable. And scientifically, as the NYT notes, efforts to tidily nail consciousness down to specific brain functions or otherwise signifiers tends to fall flat. There are also a number of deeply ethical questions that arise with just the concept of machine consciousness, particularly related to machine labor.

The Pentagon's emerging technologies unit put out a call last week for proposals that use insect brains to control robots -- because they could be used to create efficient new models for artificial intelligence, but also because they could be used to explore the meaning of consciousness. "Nature has forced on these small insects drastic miniaturization and energy efficiency, some having only a few hundred neurons in a compact form-factor, while maintaining basic functionality," reads a document in the proposal. "Furthermore, these organisms are possibly able to display increased subjectivity of experience." It goes on to say that there's evidence suggesting that "even small insects have subjective experiences, the first step towards a concept of'consciousness.'" The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is famed for funding projects that led to the early internet.