I like your argument.

It is said that absent any input these thinking machines we are inert, quiescent. That they have no intrinsic motivation of their own.

Whereas we, along with at least some other mammals but especially humans, seem to be infinitely inquisitive about the world.

But our minds don’t exist in a substrate of hyper sterile rigid silicon form.

What if some of the differences between us and our silicon based machines are merely embodiment (senses both internally and externally oriented, limbs and locomotion, etc) plus the noise of biochemistry?

Would be very interesting to be a fly on the wall in the labs these experiments are, presumably, taking place.