OK. Suppose I design a DNA genome for an animal to survive and reproduce. I give birth to the animal, and it goes out working to maximize its survival and reproduction. Is the animal therefore "unintelligent"? Why is this scenario supposed to differ from the while-loop-on-a-server scenario?

It really seems like hair-splitting to me. I mean, I understand from a legal perspective why we might want to treat the creation of a server differently from the creation of a human. But from a practical perspective, I think there is a lot of fundamental similarity.