Amplifying Phenomenal Information: Toward a Fundamental Theory of Consciousness
arXiv Preprint Archive November 9, 1999 L. Gabora
Consciousness may be a fundamental property of information, not something that emerges from non-conscious components. An entity becomes more conscious as it amplifies information—first by trapping and integrating information through closure (like the origin of life or a shared worldview), and second by maintaining dynamics at the edge of chaos through simultaneous divergence and convergence. These processes can induce phase transitions in how much information, and thus consciousness, is locally amplified. The inward bias created by closure shields us from external consciousness, suggesting that the apparent scarcity of consciousness may be an illusion.