Max Post argues that Ghosts and Vampires are a dumb answer to the question "How can something that's not alive be conscious". I'd argue that actually... it's not a stupid answer.
Ghosts and vampires, while not observed in the real world, represent thousands of years (if not more) of human discussion and exploration of the idea of what it means to be alive. While simply stating their name is not, in itself, a deep dive into the topic, it does help remind us of our values.
Vampires give us a place to consider what it means to be present, but without feeling. Some versions reflect people who have lost the ability to love, and to enjoy the more pleasurable things in life, while acting as a parasite on those around you.
Ghosts give us the opposite - a place to consider what it would mean to feel and observe the world around us, without actually being present. Many stories focus on great anguish, love, and loss.
Neither of these fit perfectly with the story of the robots, but they provide a form of base on which we can discuss yet another unfamiliar state of being.
So while one may argue the delivery was poor, the answer holds up pretty well. The idea of robots being sentient but not alive is not quite so foreign when viewed alongside the entities already present in our mythos.
