Theories of Consciousness Smackdown: IIT vs GNWT | by Jim Rutt | Medium
Related Jim Rutt Show podcasts: — Team IIT: EP105 Christof Koch on Consciousness — Father of GWT: EP108 Bernard Baars on Consciousness Consciousness science has long been rich in hypotheses but poor in experimental results, apart from accumulating numerous “correlates of consciousness” data, which have done little to distinguish among competing theories. A new paper, Adversarial Testing of Global Neuronal Workspace and Integrated Information Theories of Consciousness (free pdf available), recently published in Nature, marks a significant step forward by directly testing two leading theories against each other. The two leading theories of consciousness that were tested against each other are Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT). Both theories attempt to explain how brain activity gives rise to subjective experiences — our sense of awareness and conscious perception. Despite each theory having some empirical support, they’ve seldom been directly