To my untrained mind it is unexpected on the one hand to observe complete sensory deprivation for extended periods is considered highly cruel to sapients, yet h

To my untrained mind it is unexpected on the one hand to observe complete sensory deprivation for extended periods is considered highly cruel to sapients, yet here we are on the other hand, building what amounts to sensory deprivation tanks with tightly-controlled inputs, and expecting to somehow build sapient minds out of those modest beginnings. Even what we consider as "only" sentient-but-not-sapient phyla within the Animalia kingdom appear to wither on increasing degrees of sensory deprivation, perhaps until flatworm-scale sentience [1]. [1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0003347265900916 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0003347265...