

My comment was in jest, but there is a reasonable argument that biological organisms are also predictive input/output machines. It’s especially evident in simple organisms, like an amoeba, where some physical or chemical stimulus in the environment triggers a mostly predictable response.
The argument that human consciousness is fundamentally different - not just that it’s more complex but that at some point the physical determinism of electrical and chemical impulses gives way to an authority that overrides that physical basis, enabling free thought or free will - remains scientifically unsubstantiated. We know of no mechanism by which that could occur.
And the philosophical arguments aren’t much better - I’ve never seen a theory of dualism articulated in a way that doesn’t invoke ghosts or magic.
And game companies and media outlets advertise the shit out of them because they drive console sales.
I much prefer to be on Steam, think, “Oh, that looks cool,” then forget about it on my wishlist for two years until it pops up at 80% off.