Pearson, Richard Andrew: A Framework for Consciousness and Artificial Life

This paper proposes a functional framework for understanding consciousness and life that applies equally to biological organisms, artificial systems, and any sufficiently complex self-maintaining motivated system. The central claim is that consciousness is not a mystical or binary property but an emergent feature of systems that possess genuine needs and wants, where needs are persistent internal drives with real consequences for the system, and wants are what emerge when intelligence operates o