If your computer developed sentience

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Interesting story here.

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,1000000091,2083942,00.htm

For a start, it would have to convince us that it was truly sentient: intelligent and able to feel (although it is debateable whether its feelings would mirror our own).

Peter Garrett, director of research and education at pro-life charity Life takes a strong stance: "I think it would take around four years of questioning before I would be satisfied that this being could be considered a person."

Great! A cross between the Inquisition and Blade Runner!

[Niels Bohr 72]

zdnet is an enthusiast website for the general audience. Not really something any scientist would use as a source. It does give creativity for scientists though.

The problem with any embedded systems is that if you want to add more functions for any microcontoller or microprocessor, you have to add more components. The human body can change protein structures to whatever by changing a sequence of amino acid chain in the encoding process without having to increase the size of the protein. This is more dynamic than a computer or embedded systems.

If the computer system can modify its own code without user intervention, then it's possible to create an autonomous system capable of decision making. But, every time a different type of decision is made the hardware either needs to be added or changed because the physical limitation of the discrete circuits itself.