Yes, it seems like our consciousness has grown complex and rich enough to the point that it desires a purpose in the universe much deeper than what it may actually be. Even more so, our consciousness doesn't seem to know it's own purpose. We seek meaning in a silent universe! That silence that the universe responds with seems to frustrate the symbolic side to humans. We want something deeper than just animalistic survival, yet we can't seem to find what exactly that meaning may be, and it causes a lot of friction within us.
Exactly, however to further elaborate, I believe that the thing that primary guides the consciousness is an "Instinct", or "desire". Even for an AI, it would be highly intelligent yet it's goals would likely be innately "baked in" through it's conception, it'd experience it's drive for goals, terminal or instrumental, nearly the exact same ways a human has wants, needs, and desires. We cannot determine what we want solely through objective observation without already assuming we want anything else (this is called the "Is/Ought Guillotine").
However, while these desires and instincts are baked in, and are of a small, vague, and simplistic nature, our intelligence greatly expands those past their original scope and complexity. But it must be noted that all this "added stuff" is fundamentally rooted into these inherent instincts, witch can vary on an individual level for humans as well. It is for this reason that the "meaning of life" will not be found anywhere in the external universe, but is instead within oneself.
However, it's a undeniable that all meaning to life that a human could derive, would be rooted in instincts evolved just for us to survive in prehistoric wilds. It's a bit saddening such a deep consciousness is locked into what's effectively a reproduction machine, but
it is what it is.
I also feel like modern society has an uncanny resemblance to "The Paperclip Machine". It seeks "Development" and "Growth" to improve human lives and happiness, but it's just becoming a NWO dystopia mixed with "Brave New World". It
technically achieved all it's goals, but it's just so wrong.
However, the ultimate irony to all this, is that once those instincts, those desires, are fulfilled to the highest degree, there can be an emptiness, a "boredom". The word "fulfillment" as most would think, is when one could always move towards these goals, but once "completed", with no further winning able to be achieved, there can be a sense of emptiness. It's a sense that one "completed" their life, but when life is
literally nearing it's end due to old age, it could be instead, a certain contentedness.
The feeling that one "completed" their life is actually a natural thing. People live their lives, have children, then when they did essentially everything they felt they had to do, they're already growing old. With death coming to them, they're simply content as their life is complete.
However, it's when life is "completed" as much as it could be, too soon, when someone still has a long life ahead of them, that there's a sense of emptiness, a sense that one's only "Waiting to die".
It seems that human development is reaching it's end goal, and the end of humanity is on the horizon. Even in developed countries, no,
especially in developed countries such as japan, south Korea, Europe, America, there are increasing suicide rates, for a variety of reasons, but an undeniable part is that people reach the point where they're only waiting to die too soon.
That was alot, wasn't it?
