A Structural-Functional Criterion for Unified Information Processing

Abstract

This manuscript addresses consciousness within this framework by first adopting a specific, defensible philosophical position — dual-aspect monism — after identifying and rejecting two internally contradictory earlier framings, then developing a two-part structural-and-functional criterion for identifying physical systems engaged in unified information processing, anchored to real, independently-published quantitative thresholds. We derive an exact power-law memory-decay result from the same underlying network structure the criterion itself is based on. This manuscript does not claim to resolve the philosophical “hard problem” of consciousness, and states this limitation explicitly. The foundational architecture, geometric intuitions, and motivating philosophy of this framework originated independently with the author prior to and separate from any AI involvement. Subsequent mathematical derivation, connection to established physics literature, computational verification, and error-checking were conducted through extended technical work with AI systems (Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini). The author directed this process, evaluated and selected among proposed derivations, and takes full responsibility for the accuracy and originality of the final work.