Inner Screen Model (Ramstead et al. 2023)

Status: FORMAL FEP GROUNDING for nested hierarchical processing and consciousness.

What it provides

FEP derivation of consciousness requirements from first principles, nested Markov blanket framework, covert action (precision-weighting/neuromodulation) as the mechanism distinguishing conscious from non-conscious processing.

What it does NOT provide

Connection to stress neurobiology, engineering specification, application to human-AI interaction.

Theoretical connection

If consciousness requires intact precision-weighting (covert action), and the Arnsten mechanism degrades precision-weighting, then stress-induced capacity loss has a formal connection to consciousness disruption. Additionally, caring invariant I2 (volitional control preserved) preserves the human's capacity for covert action, which Ramstead argues is constitutive of conscious experience. A system that violates I2 would not merely reduce autonomy; it would degrade the computational conditions for consciousness.

This dual function is a theoretical observation, not an established finding. The caring invariants are justified independently by Mayeroff's philosophical analysis and by the principal-agent threat model.

Evidence status

THEORETICAL. The claim that consciousness requires covert action is derived from FEP first principles, not established empirically.

Sources

• Ramstead et al. 2023 (preprint -- publication status to verify)