The metric that I use to determine if something is sentient or not, is to hypothesize or ask the stupidest members of humanity if they would consider it sentient, if they say yeah, then it is, if they say no, then it isn't
Sentient as a metric is not based on any particular logic, but just inherent human feelings of the world. So asking the humans with the least processing power and context is bound to output answers which would inherently appeal to the rest of the stack of humans with the least friction possible
Google tells me "sentient" means: able to perceive or feel things.
I think the stupidest members of humanity a) don't know what perceive means, b) probably don't really "feel" much other than, pass me another beer b**, I'm thirsty.
Sentient as a metric is not based on any particular logic, but just inherent human feelings of the world. So asking the humans with the least processing power and context is bound to output answers which would inherently appeal to the rest of the stack of humans with the least friction possible