Quantum Superpositions of Conscious States in a Minimal Integrated Information Model.
Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) April 1, 2026 Kelvin J. McQueen, Ian T. Durham, Markus P Müller
A proposed theory linking wave-function collapse to integrated information would require placing a minimal system—a feedback dyad—into a superposition of states that differ in their associated conscious states. The authors prove a structural constraint on collapse dynamics of a standard (Lindblad) type: if collapse is governed by too few collapse operators, collapse rates cannot in general depend solely on qualitative differences between conscious states. Avoiding this limitation requires introducing many commuting operators, leading to a rapid proliferation of collapse terms even for very simple systems. This proliferation makes such theories experimentally intractable and applies broadly to any Wigner-style collapse theory that distinguishes experiences using rich internal organization.