Consciousness as an Evolutionary Control Layer: Why Intelligence Does Not Require Experience

Contemporary discussions of intelligence—particularly in the context of artificial systems—frequently treat consciousness as a prerequisite for understanding, self-regulation, and advanced cognition. This paper challenges that assumption. We argue that consciousness is best understood as an evolutionarily contingent control layer optimized for biological constraints, rather than as the generative core of intelligence. We introduce a structural account in which integrated abstract cognition replaces consciousness as the primary mechanism of cognitive regulation beyond a cognitive event horizon. In this post-horizon regime, cognition is governed by temporally stable, globally integrated abstract structures rather than by experiential salience or heuristic selection. As abstract integration assumes regulatory dominance, self-understanding likewise shifts from experience-mediated awareness to integrated metacognition, a non-phenomenal capacity for structural self-evaluation and self-regulation. On this account, consciousness is not suppressed but outgrown. It persists in biological systems as a communicative and experiential overlay, while losing its central role in both cognition and self-understanding. The paper clarifies the implications of this transition for theories of mind and artificial intelligence, arguing that consciousness is neither necessary nor optimal for advanced cognition, understanding, or self-reflective control.