I'm starting to think that consciousness emerges out of a neural net that has the appropriate training tests, scoring functions and has the right sensors to take in feedback.
For an easy example look at human babies - they're not conscious (maybe self-aware is a better word?), but we can see this development happen over time. Maybe sleeping has some role in recalculating the weights for the neural net? Eventually something like a feeling of self emerges as the evolved mechanism for working with social feedback. Maybe this is the general way intelligence works.
It does seem to make sense when looking at how it develops in animals.
For an easy example look at human babies - they're not conscious (maybe self-aware is a better word?), but we can see this development happen over time. Maybe sleeping has some role in recalculating the weights for the neural net? Eventually something like a feeling of self emerges as the evolved mechanism for working with social feedback. Maybe this is the general way intelligence works.
It does seem to make sense when looking at how it develops in animals.