If you break consciousness down to its most basic element, qualia, I think it's plausible that even very simple systems might be conscious. Not conscious in the way humans or animals are conscious though. Perhaps consciousness is just something that is inherent to information states. The simplest form of consciousness might exist in a switch with an on/off position. If consciousness is indeed innate to information states, then it feels like something to be on or off. There is nothing the switch can do with this information, it's incapable of doing anything. All it can be is on or off. The switch isn't sentient, it just has a subjective experience of on or off.