On the topic of the digital consciousness thing, I don't think our current silicone processing technology can handle human complexity. Transistors rely on positive/null binary programming, which works great for calculations but lacks the complexity of context. Neurons are not positive/null binary systems. They activate through a bunch of different means, cascading signals through one another. There are null/positive integers there, but its waaay more complex than just those logic gates. Its like asking a person which way to go to the market, expecting a left or right direction to be given, but told north by northwest instead. Until we can make some sort of computing technology which can duplicate that at least 4 way system of logic gates in contrast to our current binary systems, we won't ever be able to ever start to duplicate neuronal data in any meaningful terms. In order to gain contextual perspective, something more than the binary system will have to be derived.