We will be able to explain and understand consciousness in objective terms 1 second after the first person achieves flight by pulling themselves into the air with the bucket they are standing in. About 5 seconds after a computer can run a 100% simulation of itself running a 100% simulation of itself. A whole minute after someone writes a program that can tell if/when any other programs will stop running.
As a question that's dogged us for thousands of years, maybe its time to accept its just a shitty question.