[zhynn]

I think consciousness is the combination of attention (ability to pick focus), imagination (simulate possible universe states), and reflection (compare what happened to what was imagined to happen and update imagination accordingly).

Attention is just what it feels like to update your internal state deliberately (you are doing it, it is not being done to you). Imagination is the use of your internal universe simulator to predict possible states (sometimes impossible ones). Reflection is what makes you the agent of the thinking or doing, it's the "I" part.

I also think we have neural systems of recognizing consciousness in others. This can be tricked, which is the source of the "machine elves" in DMT experiences. The chemical is poking the brain's "that is a conscious entity right there" button, and you are sure that the optical hallucinations are conscious, but it's just a sensory hallucination on top of the optical one. Interacting with an LLM doesn't poke our "there is a consciousness on the other end of this conversation" button yet, but it will get there since that is in part what we are working towards.

But I think it will not be convincing without attention, imagination, and reflection.