When discussing "consciousness" it would be rather helpful to define what it is we mean by the word. As studies have conclusively shown we humans are only occasionally partially conscious (if by which we mean sufficiently self-aware to notice our own internal mental states) it's no good thinking "consciousness" is some sort of binary property. Our brains create an illusion of completeness that's not very accurate but good enough that our ancestors were able to function within their evolutionary environments. Taking our limited cognitive impressions and declaring they are what "consciousness" means seems arbitrary at best and highly misleading at worst. So it might be quite a sensible idea to attempt to define what we mean when we toss around the vague concept of "consciousness" before we begin to squabble over whether or not any brain, organic or CPU-based, has any element of "consciousness" either actual or potential, never mind the mechanics of how the phenomenon is generated. Today we appear to be like medieval theologians, wasting time fussing over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, without ever bothering to step back and consider the context in which such discussions ought to be placed.