My basic argument: machines will achieve life long before they achieve consciousness. They have evolved with us so far and will continue to do so. The worst-case scenario is that they will eclipse us in importance, and obviously this has probably already happened with corporations - we are their gut flora and they trample us with impunity - but when you build a vast system, you tend to keep the components in place.
The story that the design constraints of the Space Shuttle were ultimately shaped by the size of Roman roads is a myth, but it communicates an essential truth: systems tend to outlive their intended purpose. The Roman Empire turned into a church when it couldn't survive any other way, and in its church form it remains to this day one of the biggest property owners in Europe.
If you think a new life form will soon exist, the bad news is you probably don't know jack shit about AI research, but the good news is that the best possible way to survive in this unlikely event would be to make yourself part of the new life form. These "life forms" need us to procreate and function in the same way flowers need bees. AIs will certainly kill some people, but humanity itself is in much more danger from its environmental irresponsibility than its ingenuity.