Nothing like existential contemplation to get the juices flowing on a Monday morning. I think I need another coffee before giving this a second read. This looks like a promising model to build true AI off of.
If you find the topic of consciousness interesting, here is an interesting neuroscientist's talk on consciousness. The idea that we can measure levels of consciousness as brain scanning tools become available and how consciousness may just be a "prediction process/function/tool".
It's not "I think therefore I am", but "I predict, therefore I am".