Mathematical Bridge Between IIT and FEP Proposed via MaxCal

A new study on arXiv has uncovered a detailed mathematical relationship between Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and the Free Energy Principle (FEP). The researchers define information as the difference ψ between actual dynamics and a constrained maximum-caliber (MaxCal) path ensemble over a given period. They demonstrate that the cause/effect frameworks of IIT 3.0 stem directly from MaxCal variational principles, allowing for a new derivation of IIT's phenomenological calculus via constrained entropy-maximization (CMEP). This groundbreaking approach presents a theoretical connection to active inference, potentially bridging two key frameworks in understanding consciousness and self-organization.