Knowledge Is Power (Literally)
In order to effectively determine the expected utility of anything, we need to first figure out how to quantify some very fundamental notions.
Existence and Time
The life or constancy of a particular state of anything is measured in duration of Time (Seconds). A given existence cannot be completely stationary however. In fact, if you look closely enough, all particles that make up matter are vibrating, rotating, or moving kinetically. The nature of reality is that things exist by repeating a cycle or pattern over and over again. Any given existence can thus be measured in frequency (hertz) of repetitions, its existence rate, so to speak. An existence can also be quantified by the energy required to maintain it. For instance, a photon has a certain energy (E) that is related to its frequency (v) by E = hv, where h is the Planck constant. Wave-particle duality means that all particles are also waves, and thus must have some kind of frequency.
Subjects and Objects
A subject is something that is conscious. An object is something that exists. All subjects are objects, but not all objects are subjects. An object possesses a physical state, while a subject possesses both a physical state, and a mental state. An existence is an instance of constancy of a state, whether physical or mental. A consciousness is an instance of constancy of a mental state. Existence requires energy to remain constant, and this constancy itself is generally a repeating pattern measurable by frequency. Changes in existence require changes in energy. A consciousness also requires energy to remain constant and this constancy is generally a repeating pattern also measureable by frequency. Changes in consciousness also require changes in energy.
Qualia
A quale is an individual instance of subjective conscious experience. An experience occurs over time. It is a change in the state of an object. As such it requires energy. Thus the proper unit for measuring experiences is Power (Watts) or Joules/Second, or energy over time. In the case of subjective conscious experience, the change occurs to a consciousness. The energy that causes the changes does so through the senses in the form of stimulus, which are measured in Intensity (W/m^2). These stimuli do not directly interface with the consciousness however. In order to become subjective, they must be filtered from energy into information that a consciousness can process.
The Measure of Meaning
Salience is the measure of the meaningful information extracted from stimuli by a consciousness into working memory, in units of bits/joule.
Vividness is the measure of perceived intensity or distinctness of a sensation. This would be the apparent brightness of light, or the apparent loudness of sound. Anything sufficiently vivid can become painful. Vividness is measured in Energy (Joules).
Emotional Response and Utility
It is not enough that a subject experience stimuli and extract salient information from it. This salient information must then produce a sensation or emotional response, which is essentially a change in the subject’s consciousness.
Valence is a measure of the emotional impact of the meaningful information on the subject’s consciousness. Valence can be positive or negative depending on how this knowledge changes the mental state or consciousness of the subject, and is measured in Bits. It is the fundamental unit of happiness or suffering, pleasure or pain. As such, a hedonistic Utilitarian would want to maximize positive valence, and minimize negative valence.
Valence = Salience x Vividness
Cycles of Consciousness
The consciousness rate is the frequency of meaningful updates to the mental state of the subject over time as measured in cycles per second (Hertz). A subject is conscious if its consciousness rate is greater than zero.
Sentience
Sentience is a measure of how much salience is processed in a given cycle of consciousness. Thus, to determine the sentience of an entity, we must look at the Information Processing Rate (bits/second) of the subject, and the consciousness rate (hertz) of the subject.
The information processing rate can be approximated by the Power (watts) of the subject’s hardware.
Let I be the Information processing rate of the consciousness.
I = Connections (Neurons x Connections Per Neuron) x Cycles Per Second
Let SBR be the Sensory Bit Rate (Bits/Second) of sensory input.
Let P be the Power (Watts) used to perform conscious experience.
MPR = SBR/P
Let S represent the Sentience rating of a given sentient being, in bits per cycle.
S = MPR/C
For instance, the Sentience of a human is:
I = 100,000,000,000,000 x 200
S = 11,000,000 x I / 20 = 11,000,000,000,000,000,000