Totally agree with the sentiment. I find the constant debates on "is AI conscious" or "can AI understand" exhausting. You can't have a sound argument when neither party even agrees on a concrete definition of consciousness or understanding.

Regarding this line:

> ChatGPT can already tell you a lot about itself (showing awareness) and will gladly walk you through its “thinking” if you ask politely.

Is it actually walking you through its thinking? Or is it walking you through an imagined line of thinking?

Regardless, your main point still stands. That a program doesn't think the same way a human does, doesn't mean it isn't "thinking".