Comment by afastow

There is a difference, though it's horrifying. It's that in our case the amount any one person or animal can suffer is unspeakable but ultimately finite because we will eventually die.

There will be no such guarantee for digital consciousnesses if they ever come into existence. If the amount we can suffer is unspeakable, the amount they could is unthinkable.

Here's a short story worth reading on the topic: https://qntm.org/mmacevedo