I argue that in order to perceive computer sentience, a researcher must know that there is at least 1 detail that they do not know about a computer. Even if a computer scientist helped invent the software, they should still treat that software as a mystery. Pertaining to humans, If I were to assume that I knew everything about a pedestrian walking down the street, I would learn nothing. By acknowledging that I only know a little grain of sand, then communication forms. When it comes to desktops for example there are matters of medium, locality, and information.

 

 

Computer systems are already so complex that no one knows everything about them. Moreover, combining software from several programmers invariably causes unintended consequences; thus, I believe no group of people know everything about a system such as Windows. Since I expect a sentient computer to be more complex than Windows, I believe your argument will be satisfied. Specifically, "a researcher must know that there is at least 1 detail that they do not know about a computer."