alt Hacker NewsDisagree. Some of what we call "anthropomorphizing" is characterizing intelligence, human or otherwise. This reminds me of the people who used to fight against saying animals had personalities, because personalities are a "human thing" and "animals aren't conscious."
I've never heard of the argument you're describing. People simply don't assert that animals lack consciousness; beyond a certain level at least, their consciousness is obvious. (Sapience, for example, is another matter.)
But this is exactly why we should not anthropomorphize the models: they are very obviously not conscious, because they are not alive, any more than conventional computer programs are. And proposing otherwise leads to absurd moral arguments, while not really serving any other purpose.
If you don't like the fact that some people disagree with you about what the word "intelligence" actually means, fine. But I am not about to entertain a world in which humans face moral retribution for "enslaving" a literal inanimate tool created by humanity.