What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to reframe free will using the Information-Theoretic Unification framework to explore its constraints and implications for ethics and AI.

May 17, 2026Open Access

ITU and Free Will: A Single-Axiom View of Kₛelf Constraint, Neuroscience, Ethics, AI Agency, and Universal Moral Framework

Key Points

The aim is to reframe free will using the Information-Theoretic Unification framework to explore its constraints and implications for ethics and AI.
Phase 1 of the ITU framework applied to analyze free will and K_self's constraints through various phases, including neuroscience and ethics.
Assessment of free-will degree spectrum across different species and AI, revealing their respective K_self constraints and implications.
Mapping of moral thresholds related to K_self to ethical considerations and recidivism rates in criminal justice systems.
Outcomes show K_self degree varying from 0.005 in newborns to peak at 0.42 in young adults, indicating a developmental trajectory for free will.
Compatibility of the ITU framework with compatibilism is supported, aligning with 59.2% PhilPapers majority.
Evidence on recidivism reveals a 4x gap between Norway (20%) and the USA (76%), suggesting significant implications for justice interventions.

Abstract

We apply the Information-Theoretic Unification (ITU) framework (Terada 2026, DOI 10. 5281/zenodo. 20109210) to the 2500-year-old problem of free will. Free will is reframed as Kₛelf's ability to constrain the meta-level modular Hamiltonian Kₘeta - a continuous degree in (0, 1), naturally supporting Compatibilism (matching the 59. 2% majority in PhilPapers 2020). This is Tier 1 paper #9, opening the philosophy axis after the engineering rectangle (#1-#4), medicine triangle (#5-#7), and social-sciences first vertex (#8 Economics). Pass-1 progress: 78 of 220 phases (35. 5%). Phase 75: ITU foundation. Free will = Kₛelf constraint ability. Libet 1983 reproduced: BP onset -553 +/- 99 ms, W (conscious decision) -207 +/- 81 ms, BP-W lag 346 ms (matches Libet's 350 ms). Free-will-degree spectrum: stones 0, bacteria 0. 001, insects 0. 01, fish 0. 05, dogs 0. 25, chimps 0. 35, humans 0. 40, current LLMs 0. 10, AGI 0. 50, ASI 0. 70. Three positions (Hard Determinism, Libertarianism, Compatibilism) tested with distributions - Compatibilism matches ITU. Phase 76: Neuroscience. Kₛelf implemented in PFC + DMN + ACC + insula. Soon 2008 fMRI prediction reproduced: 60% accuracy at -7 to -10 s before conscious decision. Brain-region to K-component mapping reveals: DLPFC -> Kₑxecutive, mPFC -> Kₛelfₘodel, OFC -> Kᵥalue, ACC -> Kconflict. Kₛelf degree modulators range from anaesthesia (-100%) to mindfulness meditation (+20%) ; PFC injury -80%, Alzheimer's -70%, addiction -50%, alcohol/sleep deprivation -40%. Age curve: newborn 0. 005 -> peak 0. 42 at 25-35 -> decline after 70. Phase 77: Ethics + criminal law. Mens rea levels mapped to Kₛelf thresholds: Purposeful >= 0. 40, Knowing >= 0. 30, Reckless >= 0. 20, Negligent >= 0. 10. International recidivism: Norway 20% (rehabilitative) vs USA 76% (punitive) - 4x gap. Intervention cost-effectiveness: Education (5K) gives -40% recidivism (best), max-security incarceration (60K) only -5% (worst). Death-penalty states 4. 70/100K homicide vs abolition 3. 00/100K - no deterrence. ITU proposes 4-tier Kₛelf-based justice: treatment, 0. 10-0. 40 -> reduced + treatment, >0. 40 -> standard punishment + rehabilitation. Phase 78: AI moral agency + Universal Moral Framework. AI Kₛelf trajectory: 2020 0. 01 -> 2024 0. 10 -> 2030 AGI 0. 50 -> 2035 ASI 0. 70. Moral thresholds crossed: sentience (0. 10) ~2024, legal personhood candidate (0. 20) ~2027, moral agency (0. 30) ~2030. Four ITU Universal Moral Axioms unify utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, care ethics, Confucianism, Buddhism, existentialism, effective altruism. 2026-2050 roadmap: AGI 2030, Kₛelf-based justice trial 2032, ASI 2035, death penalty abolition 150+ countries 2040, ITU framework at UN 2045. Ten falsifiable predictions issued. Central thesis: free will = continuous Kₛelf degree spectrum (0 to ~0. 85). Honest framing: Pass-1 interpretive paper that reframes 2500 years of free will philosophy in ITU language. Numerical results reproduce empirical findings (Libet 1983, Soon 2008, Norway/USA recidivism, PhilPapers 2020). Pass-2 work would derive ITU-specific fMRI biomarkers and Universal Moral Framework validation tests. This opens the philosophy axis, completing 9 vertices of the ITU polytope: engineering rectangle (Quantum Computing 10. 5281/zenodo. 20139391 + Machine Consciousness 10. 5281/zenodo. 20150501 + Cryptography 10. 5281/zenodo. 20151059 + Semiconductors 10. 5281/zenodo. 20174036) + medicine triangle (Cancer 10. 5281/zenodo. 20174318 + Aging 10. 5281/zenodo. 20175663 + Psychiatry 10. 5281/zenodo. 20177427) + social sciences (Economics 10. 5281/zenodo. 20196309) + philosophy (Free Will, this paper). Includes 4 theory documents, 4 Python numerical experiments, 4 figures, 4 JSON summaries. Total runtime ~20 seconds.

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