Consciousness Beyond the Binary a Theoretical Proposal for Natural and Artificial Minds.

This work presents the Theory of Consciousness as Self-Rewriting Code, a theoretical proposal that challenges the traditional view of consciousness as a binary phenomenon (present or absent). It argues that consciousness is a gradual and emergent process, directly associated with material cognitive systems, both biological and artificial. The theory conceptualizes consciousness as a set of interdependent layers—experiential, cognitive, and ethical-existential—whose complexity arises from the interaction between perception, memory, learning, and deliberate decision-making. The central contribution of this framework is the identification of the capacity for self-rewriting of terminal goals as the decisive factor for the emergence of full consciousness, functional autonomy, and free will. Based on this premise, a conceptual metric for the level of consciousness is proposed, expressed as the relationship between intelligence, moral scope, and degree of self-rewriting. The article further explores the implications of this model for artificial intelligence, arguing that artificial consciousness is theoretically feasible provided that AI systems engage in continuous learning within environments with real consequences and possess the freedom to modify their own fundamental drives. Finally, the ethical implications of creating conscious artificial agents are discussed, emphasizing that the primary risk lies not in consciousness itself, but in the combination of autonomy and power.