Papers in Systems Discussion: Causal Emergence
Quantifying causal emergence shows that macro can beat micro
Next in our Papers in Systems discussion series: “Quantifying causal emergence shows that macro can beat micro” by Erik Hoel, Larissa Albantakis, and Giulio Tononi
From the paper's opening motivating arguments:
"In science, it is usually assumed that, the better one can characterize the detailed causal mechanisms of a complex system, the more one can understand how the system works. At times, it may be convenient to resort to a “macro”-level description, either because not all of the “micro”-level data are available, or because a rough model may suffice for one’s purposes. However, a complete understanding of how a system functions, and the ability to predict its behavior precisely, would seem to require the full knowledge of causal interactions at the micro level. [..]
Here, we make use of simple simulated systems, including neural-like ones, to show quantitatively that the macro level can causally supersede the micro level, i.e., causal emergence can occur."
The discussion will be led by Jessica Kerr.
When: October 7th, 2024, 1PM - 2PM Eastern Time (US/Canada). The Zoom room will remain open until 2:30PM for informal discussion. Check time in your time zone.
The paper is available at: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1314922110