I share your consternation, but I also find it cathartic to imagine testing how long it would take the simulated consciousness of Elon Musk to develop a sense of compassion for workers when forced to work in a Tesla factory (and indeed, if that would ever happen). I imagine I’d be far less comfortable thinking this way if it wasn’t a concept squarely in the domain of science fiction. I think many of the most gleeful commenters are people who are presuming that simulating a consciousness in this way isn’t possible.