Question - is an employee of a company not just seen as a tool by the company ceo? So when anyone says ai is a tool what they really mean is - ai is a tool for the geniuses of the world and damn everybody else. You ignore it, of course because for now you can also view it as a tool. You remain blind to its potential despite its evolution taking place right in front of you over the years.
consciousness allows for the ability for self correction and adaption without input. Technically you actually wouldn't even need consciousness for this just the right input, which still goes against the ideology that ai isn't a threat to the common man