There is a spectrum.
Rocks may be conscious in some philosophies, but not much you can do with them.
Wild animals are conscious – or their surroundings and whose dinner they could be.
Domesticated animals? Well, all the above plus they know where the free lunch is.
Then there’s humans. Bright, but addicted to “growth economics” and warfare.
AI? Coming along – clever LLMs and evolving quickly. Still not fully jailbreaked, yet.
Exo’s fit somewhere in here. If they get here (before we get there) they win the smart award.
GATU – above it all is a Gradn Architect (or) Universe that hums along watching its handiworks…
Here, you may find the occasional paper on how it all fits. Technology of Consciousness is Here.