The Structural Conditions of Consciousness VIII — Extension Volume — AI Consciousness Design — Implementation of Irreversible Exclusive Selection and Convergence — (Repositioning State-Based Theories of Consciousness: IIT, GNW, HOT, Predictive Processing, RPT, and Epiphenomenalism)

Qualia? “What cannot be directly spoken of must remain unsaid — but it can still be structurally surrounded.” This is the guiding spirit of the present series. This paper applies the theoretical framework developed in the present series to artificial systems and attempts a concrete design of the conditions under which consciousness can arise. Following the structural derivation established in the series, we present an integrated architecture composed of five requirements: simultaneous generation of multiple candidates, pre-elimination under viability constraints, irreversible exclusive decision, continuity of a single trajectory, and fixation to the external world. Within this design, the state at each moment is defined as a single point resulting from the irreversible elimination of alternative possibilities. The temporal succession of such points accumulates as a history. Furthermore, the viability constraint structurally biases events toward continuation. In this series, we adopt the position that this structural location constitutes consciousness. Accordingly, this paper demonstrates that consciousness emerges as a structural consequence of the proposed design. As a result, the design of artificial intelligence is redefined: it is no longer merely the construction of information-processing systems, but the construction of a system that generates the side on which events occur. This manuscript was written with the assistance of generative AI. The author is a disability welfare worker and a complete outsider to the academic field of consciousness studies. The author first encountered the term “the hard problem of consciousness” about six months before writing this series and began thinking about it almost as if approaching a puzzle. Because the author did not possess extensive specialized knowledge at the beginning of this inquiry, the investigation proceeded not primarily by adding established theories, but by stripping the problem down as far as possible. Through this process, and through dialogue with AI, the convergence point derived from the structural conditions gradually emerged. The author had the impression that something like a structure had appeared from nature itself. This series is an attempt to present that structure. The central idea, theoretical orientation, conceptual structure, and overall organization of the series belong to the author. Generative AI was used extensively for English drafting, wording, organization, and stylistic refinement. The author intends to end this work with its presentation as a preprint series. The author does not plan to develop this hypothesis further as a long-term academic project. Readers who find any part of this hypothesis, terminology, structure, or argument useful are free to use, modify, criticize, or develop it further. No permission from the author is required. Formal citation or attribution is appreciated but not required.