A new theory suggests that consciousness may have evolved as part of the memory system in order to help flexibly combine memory to plan future actions.

Rather than experiencing the world in real time, we may be perceiving our surroundings and internal thoughts as memories.

Consciousness would then allow us to recombine existing memories to project into the future.

https://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/2022/10/03/new-explanation-for-consciousness/