Nice article. I feel pretty strongly that time is indeed an illusion based on an evolution of state. That's why we get so perplexed when we find that states mustn't evolve in a manner that seems to us to be the forward one. I linked to a thought experiment I wrote about the emergence of time and space in a post several months ago. I don't take the view that the universe didn't wholly exist until we perceived it, only that it didn't yet exist relative to us. That said, I do think existence is a relationship, and that our consciousness did require the universe to have new characteristics. I believe we further define the universe.
It seems as though there is at least some experimental evidence that supports that view as well. Now, I don't pretend to understand that paper as I have never taken a formal physics course, but the explanations I have read seem to indicate that it suggest time is emergent. What do you mean by your statement that our consciousness requires the universe to have new characteristics?