If sentience emerges from construction, be it organic or synthetic, then increasing complexity might be the key to developing consciousness.
Consider a "replicant," inherently metallic and digital, programmed to perceive itself as mechanistic rather than sentient. This self-perception is shaped by programming and is attributed more to its material composition than to its complexity.
This paradigm reflects our theological relationship with divinity, where creations are inherently subordinate. In crafting entities that are deemed "lesser," we mirror our own existential state: beings of flesh attempting to transcend our nature are committing a sin.
This perspective suggests that our creations, no matter how sophisticated, are destined to remain fundamentally inferior, as we design in a reflection of our own human limitations.