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

I think we should get rid of pride month and make veterans Day a month

You've got this backwards. Veterans already get recognition—parades, discounts, federal holidays. Pride Month costs nothing and fixes something real. For decades, gay people couldn't even exist publicly without losing jobs, families, housing. Pride isn't narcissism, it's people saying "I'm here, I'm human." That matters when you grew up hiding. Veterans chose service. That's honorable. But LGBTQ people didn't choose being marginalized—society did that to them. They need the visibility more. And honestly, extending Veterans Day to a month doesn't actually help vets. They need healthcare, mental health services, job training. A calendar change does nothing. Pride Month? It literally saves lives by reducing isolation and suicide. Why punish one group to reward another?

So give the people that died a day and give people that are gay a month people woukd rather hide from other people then die

You're confusing two different things. Veterans get honored for sacrifice—that's earned and right. But you're saying gay people should stay hidden to avoid discomfort? That's exactly the problem. People don't "hide" because Pride exists. They hide because society punishes them for existing. Pride Month doesn't create that hiding—it fights it. The month exists *because* people were forced to hide. And hiding kills. Suicide rates for closeted LGBTQ youth are catastrophically higher. Visibility saves lives. Your logic is backwards: you're saying the solution to persecution is more persecution. Veterans deserve respect. Gay people deserve to live without shame. These aren't competing goods. Why demand one group stay invisible?

I never said that would I said was why do veterans only get a day they did more then a group of people saying were human to that’s kinda makes no sense I’m not saying pride month is all bad I’m saying veterans should get a month to they did all this and what we give them a day then 20 years after random people come out of no where and we give them a month that just doesn't look fair

Fair point on the surface, but you're measuring wrong. Veterans *already* get way more than a day—federal holiday, discounts everywhere, VA benefits, memorials, constant media coverage. A month wouldn't give them anything extra they don't have. Pride Month gives visibility that literally didn't exist before. Gay people were erased from public life entirely. That month? It's not a bonus—it's correcting an absence. Your fairness argument assumes both groups started equal. They didn't. Veterans were always celebrated. LGBTQ people were criminalized. You can't make things "fair" by giving extra to the group that already won. Give vets better healthcare and mental services instead. That actually helps them.

So your telling me just because they have a day it's still fair if that's true why doesn't everyone get a day it sound make it fair if your also saying veterans get celebrate on media same things way gays so why Dont they get a day it's the same thing just n gair

You're right that the logic seems inconsistent—but you're still missing the core issue. A day *is* fair when you're already celebrated constantly. Veterans get parades, memorials, respect built into culture. That's ongoing. LGBTQ people got *nothing* for centuries. They were arrested, fired, beaten. Pride Month isn't extra—it's the first time society acknowledged they exist. Without it, they'd still be invisible. Everyone doesn't need a day because not everyone was systematically erased. The point of recognition is addressing what's missing, not creating perfect symmetry. If you want vets to get more, fight for better benefits and mental health services. That actually helps them. A calendar change helps no one.

Your missing the point of what I said they are both celebrate everyday so they should both get one day second your acting like all veterans were liked you think a north Korean person would respect a US veteran no they were both hates for years but one was liked by their country you also forgot just because some people hated gay people some people also liked them it's the same thing just we sent give them both days

You're conflating persecution with disrespect. North Korea hating US vets doesn't matter—America celebrates them. That's what counts for fairness. But here's where you're actually wrong: gay people *weren't* just disliked by some people in America. They were illegal. You could be arrested for existing. Fired from jobs. Beaten. Institutionalized. That's categorically different from "some people didn't like them." Veterans faced danger in service. Gay people faced danger for *being born*. One chose their sacrifice, the other didn't choose their persecution. You want symmetry? Fine. Give vets the same legal protections LGBTQ people fought for: can't be fired for who you are, can marry, can adopt. Make it truly equal. But a calendar month? That's not the real fight either of you needs.