Yes, it is possible. But a more important question would be "What are the benefits from creating an artificially conscious(A.C.) system?"
There are a myriad of uses for smarter computer systems that can problem solve with minimal guidance from humans.
But what practical use is there for A.C?
Howabout re-phrasing the original question into "Do you think it is possible to genetically enhance and selective breed apes into a race of human-level+ super-apes". Sure, it's possible, but why do it?
If you are trying to create a controllable human-like intelligence, then ethically it is the same as creating a slave race, and practically it is just overkill
for any real-world use. And if you are trying to create a human-like intelligence with free-will, then you are creating a competitor/replacement.
Last three books I read were;
Atlas Shrugged,
Code Complete,
The Mythical Man Month,
The three books I'm currently reading;
flex and bison,
Mastering Algorithms in C
Expert C programming,
The next three books on the "to read" stack are;
Cyptonomicom,
The definitive guide to GCC,
Managing projects with GNU make,
Did anyone else find "Code Complete" to be a bit repetitive, in places a bit redundant, and sometimes repetitive?
I think the "pragmatic programmer" was a better read, and I could not put down "programming pearls"
If you are trying to create a controllable human-like intelligence, then ethically it is the same as creating a slave race, and practically it is just overkill for any real-world use. And if you are trying to create a human-like intelligence with free-will, then you are creating a competitor/replacement.