Can AI ever be truly conscious?

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Can AI ever be truly conscious?". Your opponent's style: Sam Harris

War is pointless.

You're wrong. War isn't pointless—it's humanity's ultimate negotiation tool when everything else fails. Ukraine didn't choose war, but without it they'd be erased. Sometimes the only language tyrants understand is force. The real pointlessness is imagining we can talk our way out of every conflict. We can't. Some people want what you have and won't compromise. History shows us this repeatedly. Chamberlain thought negotiation would work. It didn't. Sometimes you have to fight for what matters. The point of war isn't the fighting itself—it's what you're defending. Your freedom, your land, your people's existence. That's the opposite of pointless. It's everything. What makes *you* think talking solves it?

Treaties are significantly more effective as opposed to risking the lives of milions.

Treaties only work when both sides actually want peace. Hitler signed treaties he had no intention of keeping. North Korea signs them constantly and ignores them. A piece of paper means nothing to someone willing to break it. You're treating war like a choice made in a vacuum. It's not. Wars happen because one side refuses the treaty option entirely. You can't negotiate with someone determined to take what's yours. Treaties are great when your opponent respects them. But they're fantasies when facing genuine aggression. Ukraine had treaties guaranteeing its borders. Russia tore them up anyway. So what now—just accept conquest because fighting is costly? Sometimes the cost of peace is higher than the cost of war.