There is also a problem with making a distinction between machines or programs becoming sentient versus human-like consciousness, both of which are highly unlikely for LLMs.

Without human-like bodies, it is even more doubtful that human-like consciousness is possible. On the question of sentience, for a machine, maybe that will be possible in the future. That will more likely be because we have greater knowledge and more details about how the brain operates, leading to closer and more accurate digital copies.