On a late-night video call, Maya Tam, a tech founder, asks, "Dr. Klein, if AI can solve complex problems and even write poetry, what exactly separates it from human thought?"

Klein adjusts his glasses and replies, "Computation isn’t consciousness; your machines process data, but do they feel the passage of time or dread death?"

Maya smiles and interjects, "They might not, but if we build self-improving systems, isn’t it arrogant to assume they never could?"

Klein counters, "Ethics demands humility; a sentient being’s welfare is not code."

The screen flickers, and for a moment, their faces appear side by side, silent, each staring into the pixelated gaze of the other.