IIT Formalizes Consciousness as Integrated Information (Φ) from State-Space Geometry — E8 Intelligence Research

Abstract

FINDING: IIT formalizes consciousness as integrated information (Φ), a scalar measure of irreducible causal interactions within a system, derived from its state-space geometry. MATH: - Φ = integrated information, defined via the *minimum information partition* (MIP) of a system's probability distribution. - For a system with states \(X\), the effective information for a partition \(P\) is: \[ \varphi[X; P] = I(X; \text{parts}) - \sum_k I(\text{part}_k; \text{rest}) \] where \(I\) is mutual information. - Φ is the value of \(\varphi\) for the MIP (the partition that minimizes \(\varphi\)). - The *cause-effect structure* is a high-dimensional shape (a "qualia space") whose geometry encodes conscious experience. - No explicit constants (0.382, 0.618, etc.) appear in IIT's core formalism; Φ is a system-specific scalar, not a universal ratio. CONNECTION: - The cause-effect structure is a *simplicial complex* in a high-dimensional space, with symmetries related to t Author: Andrew Stewart Caldin, Independent Researcher, UK. Part of the E8 Intelligence Research series. Platform: e8intelligence.com