But possibly introducing a new problem in as much as the very term 'sentient' and some of the concept it represents isn't even present in the mainstream.

I recall back in my early high school years writing an essay that included a reference to sentience and was surprised when she didn't know what it meant. She was actually an extremely good English teacher and quite well informed generally... just not in the same subculture. While I didn't have the term for it back then it stuck in my mind as significant lesson on the topic of inferential distance.