I agree that other mediums (like artificial neurons) would likely still be conscious, but an abstract calculation on a bunch of pieces of papers, possibly spread over years and across multiple people performing the calculations? That seems odd to me. Definitely still "intelligent", but should I feel bad about ripping up those pieces of paper? Should I feel like I'm killing someone by erasing calculations off of the paper or introducing a mathematical mistake somewhere in the middle?
What does morality have to do with the nature of what is? How you feel about snuffing out some form of consciousness is irrelevant to whether it exists or not.
