Relationship between phenomenal and access consciousness

Determine the relationship between phenomenal consciousness and access consciousness in cognitive systems, specifying whether these constructs coincide, dissociate, or one entails the other, and delineate the conditions under which they align or diverge.

Background

The report distinguishes phenomenal consciousness (subjective experience) from access consciousness (availability of information for reasoning and action). While there appears to be a close connection between these notions, the authors emphasize their conceptual distinctness and highlight uncertainty about how they relate.

Clarifying this relationship is foundational for interpreting scientific theories of consciousness and for assessing AI systems, as different theories may implicitly or explicitly link phenomenal and access consciousness in different ways.