Network Controls
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Active nodes contribute to the system's state. The more nodes are integrated (connected with strong mutual influence), the higher the Φ value.
Why does integration matter?
IIT proposes that consciousness requires information that is both differentiated (many possible states) AND integrated (states of parts affect each other). A system with high Φ has more conscious experience.
What is Φ (Phi)?
Φ measures how much information a system generates "as a whole" beyond what its parts generate independently. If you can split a system into two parts without losing information, Φ is low. If the parts are deeply interdependent, Φ is high.
The Integration Requirement
A system where each node operates independently (like a million separate sensors) has Φ ≈ 0, even if each part is complex. Consciousness requires parts working together.
The Panpsychism Implication
If Φ > 0 implies some experience, even simple systems like a photodiode might have minimal consciousness. This is IIT's most controversial claim — but Tononi argues it follows necessarily from the theory's axioms.
Why Posterior Cortex?
IIT predicts the posterior "hot zone" is consciousness's seat because its recurrent architecture maximizes Φ. The prefrontal cortex, despite its importance for cognition, has more feedforward connections and lower integration.