I would have to agree with John Horgan's opinion in the reading, Taking Sides: Science, Technology, and Society (10th Edition), and say no. Machines are man made, brains aren't . Consciousness or thinking is not something that can be programmed. Yes, machines are able to process information, but they don't have to actually think about it or debate upon it, they're programmed to know exactly what to do in every situation that comes there way.
Being Conscious, is being aware (within ones self), and being characterized by emotion, thought, and sensation. You might think of robots being able to fall in love or something of that nature, and i don't know how that whole thing works, but i'm pretty sure it doesn't work the same way as a human falling in love.
The brain is a very complex object, it has billions of neurons, one neuron uses a neurotransmitter to send a signal to other neurons. Flowing through the brain is more than just neurotransmitters, it's also hormones, neural-growth factors, and a host of other chemicals. A computer, or a machine, has none of those elements. So going back to the original statement, no, machines can not be conscious.
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