Related papers: Consciousness: Here, There but Not Everywhere
The most enigmatic aspect of consciousness is the fact that it is felt, as a subjective sensation. The theory proposed here aims to explain this particular aspect. The theory encompasses both the computation that is presumably involved and…
Information flow framed in a computational and complexity context is relevant to the understanding of cognitive processes and awareness. In this paper, we begin with analyzing an information theory framework developed in recent years under…
Time flows, or at least the time of our experience does. Can we provide an objective account of why experience, confined to the short window of the conscious present, encompasses a succession of moments that slip away from now to then--an…
The Machine Consciousness Hypothesis states that consciousness is a substrate-free functional property of computational systems capable of second-order perception. I propose a research program to investigate this idea in silico by studying…
Could there be quantum superpositions of conscious states, as suggested by the Wigner's friend thought experiment? Mathematical theories of consciousness, notably Integrated Information Theory (IIT), make this question more precise by…
In an effort to simplify the complexity in the studies of consciousness, the author suggests to divide the conscious experiences into a fundamental state, the intrinsic awareness (IA), and functions of this fundamental state. IA does not…
The apparent dichotomy between information-processing and dynamical approaches to complexity science forces researchers to choose between two diverging sets of tools and explanations, creating conflict and often hindering scientific…
A measurement based formula for consciousness, C, as a function of time t, is constructed. The formula depends on identifying a natural relevant self-generated, time-dependent dynamical process inherent in any entity. For human beings the…
We tackle the problem of consciousness by taking the naturally selected, embodied organism as our starting point. We provide a formalism describing how biological systems such as human bodies self-organize to hierarchically interpret…
The encounter of artificial intelligence with consciousness research is often framed as a challenge: could this science determine whether such systems are conscious? We suggest it is equally an opportunity to expand and test the scope of…
The way we view the reality of nature, including ourselves, depend on consciousness.It also defines the identity of the person, since we know people in terms of their experiences. In general, consciousness defines human existence in this…
In the field theories in physics, any particular region of the presumed space-time continuum and all interactions between elementary objects therein can be objectively measured and/or accounted for mathematically. Since this does not apply…
Consciousness is a sequential process of awareness which can focus on one piece of information at a time. This process of awareness experiences causation which underpins the notion of time while it interplays with matter and energy, forming…
Determining whether another system, biological or artificial, possesses phenomenal consciousness has long been a central challenge in consciousness studies. This attribution problem has become especially pressing with the rise of large…
We approach the question "What is Consciousness?" in a new way, not as Descartes' "systematic doubt", but as how organisms find their way in their world. Finding one's way involves finding possible uses of features of the world that might…
The capacity to integrate information is a prominent feature of biological and cognitive systems. Integrated Information Theory (IIT) provides a mathematical approach to quantify the level of integration in a system, yet its computational…
The search for reliable indicators of consciousness has fragmented into competing theoretical camps (Global Workspace Theory (GWT), Integrated Information Theory (IIT), and Higher-Order Theories (HOT)), each proposing distinct neural…
Information theory, introduced by Shannon, has been extremely successful and influential as a mathematical theory of communication. Shannon's notion of information does not consider the meaning of the messages being communicated but only…
The alignment between human objectives and machine learning models built on these objectives is a crucial yet challenging problem for achieving Trustworthy AI, particularly when preparing for superintelligence (SI). First, given that SI…
We seek general principles of the structure of the cellular collective activity associated with conscious awareness. Can we obtain evidence for features of the optimal brain organization that allows for adequate processing of stimuli and…