evolution

[Anomalocaris]

Buggy whips were also a transient non durable phenomena.  I'm only speaking to the demonstrable and quantifiable utility of self awareness and abilities A.  Again - evolutionarily speaking..global survival is a non factor.  A thing needs only assist the members of some breeding population to be considered selectively advantageous.  We may all still die, we might be transient and non durable ourselves on some time scale.  I'd be surprised if we weren't.  I'd be even more surprised if humans (or whatever we're calling ourselves by then) lost self awareness as a heritable trait (a constellation of traits amounting to, really) before that point.  Assuming we make it long enough for that to be a possibility.

Though I do like wondering whether this thing, or other abilities premised upon it, will eventually be our undoing, ofc.

Again, no.  a gene can enhance its carrier’s chance for survival in the limited context of competing with other members of its specie that does not carry the same gene.   however, if all members of the population carrie’s the same gene, then it will no longer provide survival advantage to any member, indeed the gene can even reduce the chances of the entire population surviving.    The trap is if all members have it, then the specie slowly dies.   if some member loses it, the member dies within a generation, thus restoring gene fatal to the specie to universality amongst the surviving members of species.