I actually don't care if they are, I'm saying the topic is a distraction and irrelevant at best. As you say consciousness is not well defined. What is well defined and well grounded in reality is the disruption these models have on society. I think the consciousness debate AI researchers are having is a dangerous ego-trip for the sake of avoiding responsibility for the damage being caused by their work.

"AI researchers" have been having a "consciousness debate" since time immemorial. Here's Alan Turing on the subject in 1950: https://courses.csail.mit.edu/6.803/pdf/turing.pdf (pp. 22-23)