A related book that I found interesting is "The Ego Tunnel" by Thomas Metzinger [1]. He's a philosopher but also brings in current (for 2010) neuroscience research into the study of consciousness and the feeling of a "self".

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Ego-Tunnel-Science-Mind-Myth/dp/04650...

I think this book fits nicely in here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Ego-Tunnel-Science-Mind/dp/0465020...

Thomas Metzinger addresses this exact question in his book _The Ego Tunnel_ ([1] a great non-technical overview of his work in Philosophy-o-Mind/Neuroscience), and he comes down strongly on the side that any artificial generation of "consciousness" would be reckless and could likely increasing the amount of suffering in the world.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Ego-Tunnel-Science-Mind-Myth/dp/046504...