Easy problem vs hard problem of consciousness .
We have a general idea of the basic biological systems associated with consciousness, but we don't actually know what awareness is at its fundamental level.
Given that your brain is just a system of biochemical reactions. We don't know why it feels like something to feel anything at all.
You know you are conscious, because you are experiencing it, but it is very difficult to prove that you are not just an example of the Chinese room problem . After all, what would it look like if you were not conscious, but automated to perform as if you were?
We do not know what types of information processing eventually constitute something being conscious. We barely agree on any nuanced definition of consciousness.
Given how difficult it is to prove that humans themselves are consciousness, I assume the argument continues the less a life form can communicate it's awareness, and the less information it processes.
I personally believe most of us intuit that other species are conscious, and it has been a long time since I have explored the academic arguments otherwise. I have been out of University for over 2 decades, so it has been a while since I've heard any of the arguments...
There are tons of HackerNews apps now.
Hack, Harmonic, and Trilby are my favorites.
There is a road, no simple highway
Between the dawn and the dark of night
And if you go, no one may follow
That path is for your steps alone
Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow
You who choose to lead must follow
But if you fall you fall alone
If you should stand then who's to guide you?
If I knew the way I would take you home