Explore a groundbreaking lecture on the Conscious Turing Machine (CTM), a substrate-independent Theoretical Computer Science model of consciousness. Delve into the inspiration behind this simple yet powerful model, drawing parallels to Alan Turing's computational model and Bernard Baars' Global Workspace theory. Understand how the CTM, while not a brain model, provides insights into consciousness phenomena applicable to both animals and machines. Discover how the CTM incorporates Theoretical Computer Science principles of computation and complexity, and learn about its potential to explain the generation of conscious experiences. Examine the high-level confirmations of CTM findings in cognitive neuroscience literature. This 28-minute talk, presented at the Models of Consciousness Conference, is the first part of a joint work by Lenore, Manuel, and Avrim Blum, setting the stage for a deeper discussion of CTM insights in Part 2.