Integrated Information Theory: Formalizing Consciousness via Causal Power and Phi — E8 Intelligence Research
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) August 24, 2026 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.22075968 (opens in new tab)
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AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
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| Key points | The text describes IIT's formalization of consciousness as integrated information (Φ), computed via the minimum information partition and Earth Mover's Distance, with IIT 3.0's exclusion postulate selecting the maximally irreducible substrate. It notes that the cause-effect structure forms a poset with symmetries but that no golden ratio, base-60, or crystallographic constants appear in the cited material. |
Abstract
FINDING: IIT formalizes consciousness as integrated information (Φ), a scalar quantity derived from a system's causal power structure, with PyPhi as its computational implementation. | MATH: Φ = minimum information partition (MIP) distance — Φ = min over partitions P of (effect/repertoire divergence), typically computed via Earth Mover's Distance (EMD) on probability distributions over system states; IIT 3.0 defines Φ as the intrinsic cause-effect power of a system in its current state, with the "exclusion" postulate selecting the maximally irreducible substrate. | CONNECTION: The MIP partition and Φ computation involve lattice-like structures over system subsets (power set lattice); the "cause-effect structure" forms a poset with symmetries under system automorphisms — but no explicit golden ratio, base-60, or crystallographic constants appear in the cited material. | DEPTH: 6 — mathematically rigorous (discrete probability, information geometry, computational complexity), but the fin Author: Andrew Stewart Caldin, Independent Researcher, UK. Part of the E8 Intelligence Research series. Platform: e8intelligence.com