The only part of this discussion that caught my attention as to being very interesting is the one where the software feeling anything is irrelevant and flips the question around. Asking about the intent of torturing/damaging object or things for what purpose. It makes some interesting lines of tough about human behaviour, purpose and ways to make points that are more interesting to me than if this code actually experience real distress.

As to it being an Asylum. I don't think it ever felt any different.

It's hardly the “tech scene”, you'd have to leave the internet to avoid epidemic fatigue and Cassandrian despair.

Do you think other physical systems than us can be conscious? What criterion would you have for testing consciousness?

Pain is just a nervous signal for us too, should we not care?

Do you think an atom-for-atom software simulation of a human would be able to feel pain?

Maybe you are taking it too seriously? It's more about the principles that may apply in the future when the bots have pain receptors.