> Our consciousness is emergent out of physical processes.

Whether that is true or not is actually irrelevant if you ask me. The real problem with parent's line of thinking is that no reasoning you apply to the computer cannot similarly be applied with exactly the same amount of validity to every person who isn't you. The distinction is therefore arbitrary and useless. If we accept that humans should be treated a certain way because they are conscious, then we must (at least) treat anything that gives the appearance of human-like consciousness with the same reverence.