IIT, half masked and half disfigured.
Giulio Tononi, Melanie Boly, Matteo Grasso, Jeremiah Hendren, Bjørn E. Juel, William G. P. Mayner, William Marshall, Christof Koch
The Behavioral and brain sciences March 23, 2022 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x21001990 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that IIT's account of experience is a cause-effect structure quantified by integrated information, not information transfer. |
Abstract
The target article misrepresents the foundations of integrated information theory (IIT) and ignores many essential publications. It, thus, falls to this lead commentary to outline the axioms and postulates of IIT and correct major misconceptions. The commentary also explains why IIT starts from phenomenology and why it predicts that only select physical substrates can support consciousness. Finally, it highlights that IIT's account of experience - a cause-effect structure quantified by integrated information - has nothing to do with "information transfer."