I'm a bit torn about this.
On one hand, I do think that if we are able to effectively recreate consciousness that it should be treated on the same level as human consciousness. Arguments that it's artificial because it's manufactured are a bit hollow to me because humans are already able to reproduce consciousness from non-consciousness (conception).
On the other hand, thinking about how much benefit humanity could acquire from a generalized AI is insane. We could more or less eliminate human suffering if such a development is used properly (though practically it would always be abused because of our capitalistic approach to utilizing things).