The strength of weak integrated information theory
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 21, 2025

Quantification of Information Encoded by Gene Expression Levels During Lifespan Modulation Under Broad-range Dietary Restriction in C. elegans
Published on: August 16, 2017
Pedro A M Mediano1, Fernando E Rosas2, Daniel Bor1
1Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Department of Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
Abstract:
The integrated information theory of consciousness (IIT) is divisive: while some believe it provides an unprecedentedly powerful approach to address the 'hard problem', others dismiss it on grounds that it is untestable. We argue that the appeal and applicability of IIT can be greatly widened if we distinguish two flavours of the theory: strong IIT, which identifies consciousness with specific properties associated with maxima of integrated information; and weak IIT, which tests pragmatic hypotheses relating aspects of consciousness to broader measures of information dynamics. We review challenges for strong IIT, explain how existing empirical findings are well explained by weak IIT without needing to commit to the entirety of strong IIT, and discuss the outlook for both flavours of IIT.
Related Concept Videos
Information Processing Approach
Weak Base Solutions
¹H NMR: Interpreting Distorted and Overlapping Signals
As Δν decreases and the signals move closer, the doublets appear increasingly distorted. The intensities of the inner lines increase at the cost of those of the outer lines as the signals are...
IR Spectrum Peak Intensity: Amount of IR-Active Bonds
Propagation of Uncertainty from Random Error
Thevinin's Theorem

