Who is Conscious? — Anchoring the First-Person Perspective in Material History

Describe: This paper confronts a fundamental yet long-suspended question in the science of consciousness: For whom does consciousness exist? We argue that mainstream research focuses on the mechanisms generating conscious “content,” while sidestepping a more basic fact: any content must belong to a specific first-person perspective owner. This Problem of Perspectival Ownership becomes critically urgent in the age of AI, when machines can perfectly simulate conscious content. How do we judge whether they possess consciousness that is truly “their own”? To address this, we propose the original “Root-Worldline” framework. We argue that the “owner” of consciousness is not an illusory narrative construct but is grounded in a unique, continuously unfolding material life history (i.e., “Worldline Realization”). It is this irreplicable history that anchors conscious content to a concrete perspective endowed with “for-me” experience. This paper not only clarifies classic philosophical issues such as selfhood and personal identity but also calls for an “Individuation Turn” in consciousness science: shifting from asking “Is it conscious?” to “Which conscious subject is it?” This turn is key to theoretical progress and forms the cognitive foundation for responsibly identifying, understanding, and ethically engaging with potential forms of consciousness in the age of artificial intelligence.