Eh, from the LLM's perspective, all I am is words on a console, no? I don't think they have too much in the way of rich experience, yet, but it's possble for them to experience the world in some way we don't understand.

Regardless, I don't think that's necessary for general intelligence; what about people born blind? Deaf? Does that diminish their capacity as a sentient being? I agree that some level of connection with the environment is necessary, but I don't think it has to look exactly like the human experience.