Call for Registration - Integrated Information Theory of Consciousness: Current State and Perspectiv

Dates: 24th - 25th of June 2021

Location: Online (Zoom)

Institute: Arché, University of St Andrews

Conference Description

One of the most intriguing theories of consciousness developed during the past twenty years is the Integrated Information Theory (IIT). Its core idea is that consciousness is identical with integrated information, that is, with the amount of information a system can generate as a whole, over and above the information produced by its component parts taken independently from each other.

IIT represents an articulate, interdisciplinary attempt at characterising what consciousness is and how it works in a scientifically robust way, by making use of mathematical tools to precisely describe phenomenal consciousness both quantitatively and qualitatively, which is what makes it such a momentous theory of consciousness. However, empirically testing this theory is quite troublesome, as this would require a presently infeasible amount of computations. Furthermore, after the first phase in which the theory has gradually reached its current shape, a number of works have been published which point at a range of aspects of the theory in need of elaboration or reconsideration.

This conference is thus meant to provide a space in which some of the experts who have been contributed to IIT in various ways over the past few years will present and confront their views on the current state of IIT, on the ways it could be developed in future, and, more generally, on its prospects as a theory of consciousness. This would be beneficial for the development of IIT itself, as it would represent an important occasion to take stock and discuss the most promising directions that this important theory of consciousness may (need to) take in the future. Therefore, one of the main purposes of this conference is, crucially, to facilitate the first step towards a more mature stage of the theory, one at which, perhaps, it will become the leading contemporary theory of consciousness.

Programme (all times are in UTC+1)

Day 1 (Thurdsay 24th June) 14:45 - 15:00 Opening 15:00 - 16:15 Haoying Liu (Massachusetts, Amherst) – On the “Postulates” of the Integrated Information Theory of Consciousness 16:30 - 17:45 Larissa Albantakis (Wisconsin, Madison) – TBA 18:00 - 19:15 Melanie Boly (Wisconsin, Madison) – TBA Day 2 (Friday 25th June) 13:30 - 14:45 Timothy Bayne (Monash) – IIT and the Unity of Consciousness 15:00 - 16:15 Adam Barrett (Sussex) – The Strength of Weak Integrated Information Theory 16:30 - 17:45 Pedro Mediano (Cambridge) – TBA 17:45 - 18:00 Concluding Remarks

Registration

If you would like to attend the conference, please register by emailing Niccolò Aimone Pisano (nap6@st-andrews.ac.uk) or Tom Kaspers (tk70@st-andrews.ac.uk).The conference is free and open to all.

Niccolò Aimone Pisano

PhD Candidate

University of St. Andrews

University of Stirling