Consciousness and self-awareness doesn't require any great intelligence
Even cockroaches are in a way conscious of themselves and their place in their environment.
Their consciousness and self-awareness is of the same kind as that of animals and human beings. The difference is in the amount and the complexity, but not in kind.
Perhaps the power of computers isn't yet enough to create this kind of consciousness. Because consciousness involves simulation of one's environment and of oneself in this simulated environment in real time, based on sensory inputs.
The key is that it needs to be done in real time. Which requires a lot of computing power. But there is no fundamental reason why in the future people won't write computer programs to create such simulations and create artificial consciousness and self-awareness this way.
It's not like there is some law against it that will stop people from doing it. And even if some country makes a law against it, then people in some other country will probably develop it anyway.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
