> the consciousness still feels alive to itself
Consciousness is the state of having experiences.
Self-awareness is the ability to recognize yourself as the subject of your experiences. In other words, consciousness is a dependency for self-awareness.
It is interesting to ponder what experiences a simulation could have and whether the simulator (human) needs to anticipate what kinds of experiences they want the simulation to be able to experience and build for that.
In organisms, we think that consciousness has arisen due to evolution by natural selection because it aids in the ability for the genetic code to reproduce (survive + multiply).
It isn't obvious why consciousness would spontaneously emerge in a simulation (what's the point?) as a simulation is digital and can spread without the need for consciousness.
