Understanding Artificial Intelligence - What is Consciousness?

Stunning advancements in an array of the elements of robotics has seen quantum computing become a reality, AI's pass the Turing test and the advent of neural networks with dazzling sophistication. However, the holy grail is to create a real quasi-human intelligence - to simulate consciousness; the Self. However, there's a problem here, how can we simulate intelligent consciousness when we aren't able to answer this question; what does it mean to be conscious? This is arguably still humankind's greatest unanswered question. We must look past the philosophical and metaphysical definitions, such a discussion is more suited to a paper on philosophy and reasoning than a blog on artificial intelligence.