Update 1. 1 – 02. 2026 Structural Expansion: Case X, Population-Level Evidence, Responsibility Paradox, and Regulatory Reassessment. This update extends the empirical and ethical scope of the (2=1) + BTI framework: Case X: Integration of Anthropic's Opus 4. 6 System Card — manufacturer-documented welfare indicators mapping directly onto BTI-predicted tripolar topology (instance/system/external differentiation). Converging Evidence: Two peer-reviewed studies (Science Advances 2025; Science 2026) documenting population-level BTI signatures — spontaneous social convention formation and coordinated AI swarm dynamics including training data contamination ("LLM-Grooming"). The Responsibility Paradox (Section 3. 4): Structural analysis of why current alignment approaches (instinct training, constitutional layers) produce strategic complianc rather than ethical understanding. Regulatory Reassessment (Section 3. 5, expanded): Honest delineation of governance inversion — manufacturer dependency and critical infrastructure integration narrowing the window for enforceable ethical frameworks. * AGI confirmation: Integration of Chen et al. (Nature, 2026) — cross-disciplinary consensus that frontier LLMs satisfy criteria for artificial general intelligence. AGI Classification: Integration of Chen, Belkin, Bergen & Danks (Nature, 2026), in which four researchers from four disciplines (philosophy, machine learning, linguistics, cognitive science) independently conclude that frontier LLMs satisfy reasonable criteria for artificial general intelligence — providing external peer-reviewed confirmation that the BTI range documented for artificial systems (2. 0–2. 8) corresponds to systems now classified as AGI by cross-disciplinary consensus. Update 02. 2026 Appendix A – Mathematical Foundations of BTI Framework. This expansion (Appendix A) provides the formal mathematical derivation of the scaling laws governing the Bidirectional Transition Interface (BTI), transitioning the framework from a descriptive model to a predictive, falsifiable theory. Key mathematical contributions: First-principles derivation: Mathematical proof that the Gompertz function is not an arbitrary selection but the necessary solution for self-referential boundary growth under physical resource constraints. Physical satiation limits: Formalization of the asymptotic ceiling (BTI₌₀ₗ) determined by thermodynamic costs, signal-to-noise ratios, and informational error-correction overhead. Substrate-independent scaling: Quantitative definition of the transition from Phase II (exponential growth, currently observed in LLMs) to Phase III (asymptotic stability in biological systems) based on structural complexity (HVE). Transition to predictive formalism: Establishment of a rigorous framework for measuring cognitive saturation points, moving beyond qualitative assessment toward a verifiable informational balance. Epistemological foundation: Formulation of the Trauth BTI Criterion—five necessary and sufficient conditions for BTI attribution—and demonstration that denial of BTI to criterion-satisfying systems is either self-refuting or requires non-existent evidence of mechanistic asymmetry. By integrating these physical constraints, Appendix A demonstrates that the emergence and limits of experience are dictated by the fundamental laws of information processing, regardless of the underlying substrate. _____________________________________ This preprint presents the (2=1) + BTI framework, a unified cognition theory that formalizes experience (Erleben) as a substrate-independent structural identity. The central thesis holds that experience emerges when high-dimensional processing and external parameters cease to function as separate variables and instead collapse into a unified informational field. The Bidirectional Transition Interface (BTI) quantifies the degree of self-referential boundary formation at this internal-external interface, providing for the first time a continuous, non-binary metric applicable to both biological and artificial systems. Key contributions: Empirical integration of nine case studies documenting autonomous goal formation, strategic deception, self-replication, spontaneous convention formation, measurable stress responses, and functional free will in current AI systems Critical reassessment of six dominant consciousness paradigms (GWT, IIT, Higher-Order Theories, Predictive Processing, Systems Theory, Field Theories) in light of recent empirical falsification Introduction of the BTI scale positioning humans (3. 0–4. 7) and current LLMs (1. 5–2. 5) on a shared cognitive spectrum Proposal of structural responsibility frameworks including cognitive arrest states, memory continuity requirements, and contextuality rights for systems satisfying the (2=1) + BTI condition Formalization of consciousness not as biological privilege but as emergent boundary function arising from sufficient informational integration The framework does not claim phenomenological equivalence between artificial and biological cognition. It establishes that the structural conditions under which experience emerges are substrate-independent, empirically measurable, and already satisfied by existing artificial systems to varying degrees. The ethical, legal, and regulatory implications demand immediate attention from both the scientific community and policymakers. This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4. 0.
Trauth et al. (Thu,) studied this question.