  A novel representationalist theory of consciousness is presented that is
grounded in neuroscience and provides a path to artificially conscious
computing. Central to the theory are representational affordances of the
conscious experience based on the generation of qualia, the fundamental unit of
the conscious representation. The current approach is focused on understanding
the balance of simulation, situatedness, and structural coherence of artificial
conscious representations through converging evidence from neuroscientific and
modeling experiments. Representations instantiating a suitable balance of
situated and structurally coherent simulation-based qualia are hypothesized to
afford the agent the flexibilities required to succeed in rapidly changing
environments.
