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Entropy

Reply to Rourk, C. Comment on “Albantakis et al. Computing the Integrated Information of a Quantum Mechanism. Entropy 2023, 25, 449”

Larissa Albantakis, Robert Prentner, Ian T. Durham

Published Oct 12, 2023• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In response to a comment by Chris Rourk on our article Computing the Integrated Information of a Quantum Mechanism, we briefly (1) consider the role of potential hybrid/classical mechanisms from the perspective of integrated information theory (IIT), (2) discuss whether the (Q)IIT formalism needs to be extended to capture the hypothesized hybrid mechanism, and (3) clarify our motivation for developing a QIIT formalism and its scope of applicability.

DOI
10.3390/e25101442

Related papers

Comment on Albantakis et al. Computing the Integrated Information of a Quantum Mechanism. Entropy 2023, 25, 449

Christopher John Rourk

Integrated information theory (IIT) is a powerful tool that provides a framework for evaluating consciousness, whether in the human brain or in other systems. In Computing the Integrated Information of a Quantum Mechanism, the authors extend IIT from digital gates to a quantum CNOT logic gate, and while they explicitly distinguish the analysis from quantum theories of consciousness, they nonetheless provide an analytical road map for extending IIT not only to other quantum mechanisms but also to hybrid computing structures like the brain. This comment provides additional information relating to an adiabatic quantum mechanical energy routing mechanism that is part of a hybrid biological computer that provides an action selection mechanism, which has been hypothesized to exist in the human brain and for which predicted evidence has been subsequently observed, and it hopes to motivate the further evaluation and extension of IIT not only to that hypothesized mechanism but also to other hybrid biological computers.

Entropy•Oct 11, 2023•1 citation

Computing the Integrated Information of a Quantum Mechanism

Larissa Albantakis, Robert Prentner, Ian T. Durham

Originally conceived as a theory of consciousness, integrated information theory (IIT) provides a theoretical framework intended to characterize the compositional causal information that a system, in its current state, specifies about itself. However, it remains to be determined whether IIT as a theory of consciousness is compatible with quantum mechanics as a theory of microphysics. Here, we present an extension of IIT's latest formalism to evaluate the mechanism integrated information (φ) of a system subset to discrete, finite-dimensional quantum systems (e.g., quantum logic gates). To that end, we translate a recently developed, unique measure of intrinsic information into a density matrix formulation and extend the notion of conditional independence to accommodate quantum entanglement. The compositional nature of the IIT analysis might shed some light on the internal structure of composite quantum states and operators that cannot be obtained using standard information-theoretical analysis. Finally, our results should inform theoretical arguments about the link between consciousness, causation, and physics from the classical to the quantum.

arXiv:2301.02244•Entropy•Mar 3, 2023•19 citations

Towards Quantum Integrated Information Theory

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Integrated Information Theory (IIT) has emerged as one of the leading research lines in computational neuroscience to provide a mechanistic and mathematically well-defined description of the neural correlates of consciousness. Integrated Information ($Φ$) quantifies how much the integrated cause/effect structure of the global neural network fails to be accounted for by any partitioned version of it. The holistic IIT approach is in principle applicable to any information-processing dynamical network regardless of its interpretation in the context of consciousness. In this paper we take the first steps towards a formulation of a general and consistent version of IIT for interacting networks of quantum systems. A variety of different phases, from the dis-integrated ($Φ=0$) to the holistic one (extensive $\logΦ$), can be identified and their cross-overs studied.

arXiv:1806.01421•Jun 4, 2018•7 citations

Quantum Integrated Information Theory.

Paolo Zanardi A, Michael Tomka, Lorenzo Campos Venuti

Integrated Information Theory (IIT) has emerged as one of the leading research lines in computational neuroscience to provide a mechanistic and mathematically well-defined description of the neural correlates of consciousness. Integrated Information ($\Phi$) quantifies how much the integrated cause/effect structure of the global neural network fails to be accounted for by any partitioned version of it. The holistic IIT approach is in principle applicable to any information-processing dynamical network regardless of its interpretation in the context of consciousness. In this paper we take the first steps towards a formulation of a general and consistent version of IIT for interacting networks of quantum systems. A variety of different phases, from the dis-integrated ($\Phi=0$) to the holistic one (extensive $\log\Phi$), can be identified and their cross-overs studied.

•Jun 4, 2018•5 citations

Quantum information and computation

Jeffrey Bub

This article deals with theoretical developments in the subject of quantum information and quantum computation, and includes an overview of classical information and some relevant quantum mechanics. The discussion covers topics in quantum communication, quantum cryptography, and quantum computation, and concludes by considering whether a perspective in terms of quantum information sheds new light on the conceptual problems of quantum mechanics.

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Integrated Information in Process Theories: Towards Categorical IIT

Sean Tull, Johannes Kleiner

We demonstrate how integrated information and other key notions from Tononi et al.’s Integrated Information Theory (IIT) can be studied within the simple graphical language of process theories (symmetric monoidal categories). This allows IIT to be generalised to a broad range of physical theories, including as a special case the Quantum IIT of Zanardi, Tomka and Venuti, and sets the foundation for a categorical definition of IIT.

The Journal of Cognitive Science•Jan 1, 2021•2 citations
In response to a comment by Chris Rourk on our article Computing the Integrated Information of a Quantum Mechanism, we briefly (1) consider the role of potential hybrid/classical mechanisms from the perspective of integrated information theory (IIT), (2) discuss whether the (Q)IIT formalism needs to be extended to capture the hypothesized hybrid mechanism, and (3) clarify our motivation for developing a QIIT formalism and its scope of applicability.
Integrated information theory (IIT) is a powerful tool that provides a framework for evaluating consciousness, whether in the human brain or in other systems. In Computing the Integrated Information of a Quantum Mechanism, the authors extend IIT from digital gates to a quantum CNOT logic gate, and while they explicitly distinguish the analysis from quantum theories of consciousness, they nonetheless provide an analytical road map for extending IIT not only to other quantum mechanisms but also to hybrid computing structures like the brain. This comment provides additional information relating to an adiabatic quantum mechanical energy routing mechanism that is part of a hybrid biological computer that provides an action selection mechanism, which has been hypothesized to exist in the human brain and for which predicted evidence has been subsequently observed, and it hopes to motivate the further evaluation and extension of IIT not only to that hypothesized mechanism but also to other hybrid biological computers.
Originally conceived as a theory of consciousness, integrated information theory (IIT) provides a theoretical framework intended to characterize the compositional causal information that a system, in its current state, specifies about itself. However, it remains to be determined whether IIT as a theory of consciousness is compatible with quantum mechanics as a theory of microphysics. Here, we present an extension of IIT's latest formalism to evaluate the mechanism integrated information (φ) of a system subset to discrete, finite-dimensional quantum systems (e.g., quantum logic gates). To that end, we translate a recently developed, unique measure of intrinsic information into a density matrix formulation and extend the notion of conditional independence to accommodate quantum entanglement. The compositional nature of the IIT analysis might shed some light on the internal structure of composite quantum states and operators that cannot be obtained using standard information-theoretical analysis. Finally, our results should inform theoretical arguments about the link between consciousness, causation, and physics from the classical to the quantum.
Integrated Information Theory (IIT) has emerged as one of the leading research lines in computational neuroscience to provide a mechanistic and mathematically well-defined description of the neural correlates of consciousness. Integrated Information (ΦΦΦ) quantifies how much the integrated cause/effect structure of the global neural network fails to be accounted for by any partitioned version of it. The holistic IIT approach is in principle applicable to any information-processing dynamical network regardless of its interpretation in the context of consciousness. In this paper we take the first steps towards a formulation of a general and consistent version of IIT for interacting networks of quantum systems. A variety of different phases, from the dis-integrated (Φ=0Φ=0Φ=0) to the holistic one (extensive log⁡Φ\logΦlogΦ), can be identified and their cross-overs studied.
Integrated Information Theory (IIT) has emerged as one of the leading research lines in computational neuroscience to provide a mechanistic and mathematically well-defined description of the neural correlates of consciousness. Integrated Information (Φ\PhiΦ) quantifies how much the integrated cause/effect structure of the global neural network fails to be accounted for by any partitioned version of it. The holistic IIT approach is in principle applicable to any information-processing dynamical network regardless of its interpretation in the context of consciousness. In this paper we take the first steps towards a formulation of a general and consistent version of IIT for interacting networks of quantum systems. A variety of different phases, from the dis-integrated (Φ=0\Phi=0Φ=0) to the holistic one (extensive log⁡Φ\log\PhilogΦ), can be identified and their cross-overs studied.