Intelligence as a Measure of Consciousness

TL;DR

This paper proposes that psychometric measures of intelligence, like IQ, can serve as indirect indicators of consciousness in both artificial and biological systems, based on information coupling theories.

Contribution

It introduces a framework linking psychometric intelligence measures to consciousness assessment across diverse systems, integrating scientific and metaphysical perspectives.

Findings

Psychometric measures correlate with consciousness levels.

Information coupling is key to consciousness.

All systems may possess quantifiable consciousness.

Abstract

Evaluating artificial systems for signs of consciousness is increasingly becoming a pressing concern, and a rigorous psychometric measurement framework may be of crucial importance in evaluating large language models in this regard. Most prominent theories of consciousness, both scientific and metaphysical, argue for different kinds of information coupling as a necessary component of human-like consciousness. By comparing information coupling in human and animal brains, human cognitive development, emergent abilities, and mental representation development to analogous phenomena in large language models, I argue that psychometric measures of intelligence, such as the g-factor or IQ, indirectly approximate the extent of conscious experience. Based on a broader source of both scientific and metaphysical theories of consciousness, I argue that all systems possess a degree of consciousness ascertainable psychometrically and that psychometric measures of intelligence may be used to gauge relative similarities of conscious experiences across disparate systems, be they artificial or human.