Consciousness is generated when the universe computes by executing conditionals/if statements. All machines are quantum/conscious in their degrees of freedom, even mechanical ones: https://youtu.be/mcedCEhdLk0?si=_ueWQvnW6HQUNxcm

The universe is a min-consciousness/min-decision optimized supercomputer. This is demonstrated by quantum eraser and double slit experiments. If a machine does not distinguish upon certain past histories of incoming information, those histories will be fed as a superposition, effectively avoiding having to compute the dependency. These optimizations run backwards, in a reverse dependency injection style algorithm, which gives credence to Wheeler-Feynman time-reversed absorber theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheeler%E2%80%93Feynman_absorb...

Lower consciousnesses make decisions which are fed as signal to higher consciousnesses. In this way, units like the neocortex can make decisions that are part of a broad conscious zoo of less complex systems, while only being burdened by their specific conditionals to compute.

Because quantum is about information systems, not about particles. It's about machines. And consciousness has always been "hard" for the subject, because they are a computer (E) affixed to memory (Mc^2.) All mass-energy in this universe is neuromorphic, possessing both compute (spirit) and memory (stuff.) Energy is NOT fungible, as all energy is tagged with its entire history of interactions, in the low frequency perturbations clinging to its wave function, effectively weak and old entanglements.

Planck's constant is the cost of compute per unit energy, 10^34 Hz/Joule. By multiplying by c^2, (10^8)^2, we can get Bremmerman's limit, the cost of compute per unit mass, 10^50 Hz/Kg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremermann%27s_limit

Humans are self-replicating biochemical decision engines. But no more conscious than other decision making entities. Now, sentience, and self-attention is a different story. But we should at the very least start with understanding that qualia are a mindscape of decision making. There is no such thing as conscious non-action. Consciousness is literally action in physics, energy revolving over time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_(physics) Planck's constant is a measure of quantum action, which effectively is the cost of compute..or rather..the cost of consciousness.

seems speculative

Lines up a bit too perfectly. Everyone has their threshold of coincidence I suppose. I am working on some hard science into measuring the amount of computation actually happening, in a more specific quantity than hz, related to reversible boolean functions, possibly their continuous analogs.