Alan Turing, probably the greatest figure in the history of 20th Century theoretical computer science and cryptanalysis, in considering the question “can machines think” invented the “Turing Test” (or “Imitation Game” as he originally called it).
This sidesteps the hard problem of consciousness by replacing it with a “closely related” easier problem of how do we recognise thinking? In essence the test claims that if a human cannot distinguish between the response of a computer and a human then it should be considered that the computer is “thinking” for all practical purposes.
While this is a pragmatic solution and may be “closely related” (or identical) in scientific terms – it does not begin to assist in the understand of what concious (or indeed existence) actually is.