Artificial intelligence and quantum computing are two lines of rapidly evolving technology. They go beyond the mere amplification of human capacities, because one leads us to question what intelligence and consciousness actually are; and the other, to question our own reality. It seems inevitable to...
Artificial intelligence and quantum computing are two lines of rapidly evolving technology. They go beyond the mere amplification of human capacities, because one leads us to question what intelligence and consciousness actually are; and the other, to question our own reality. It seems inevitable to me that these two technologies will merge somehow in the near future, which makes it urgent to think about them. The quantum model involves a series of mathematical equations capable of accurately anticipating experimental results. It is the most accurate model developed by physics to this day. From its practical application has resulted, for example, all our digital technology. However what these mathematical equations actually represent is, in today's physics, open to different interpretations. Take as an example the "wave function", a state descriptor in the quantum model. In a very general way, one of the interpretations (the "Copenhagen") considers that this function results in the probability of an event occurring. In another interpretation (called "the many worlds"), the wave function results in the probability of our conscience being in the specific universe where that event occurred. In mathematical terms, nothing changes, these are only interpretations of what the same function would mean. But such different visions have a great impact on what our reality can be: do we live in a universe where quantum possibilities are only virtual and our reality is a single one, or is the universe we perceive only a fraction of a much larger Multiverse, where every quantum possibility really happens, in a deterministic way? How can the same model result from such different realities without any mathematical inconsistency occurring? In short, the mathematical model works (we know this for almost a century of experiments and practical applications), but we still do not know what kind of reality it describes. In science, this may not be a relevant issue - what matters is that the model works according to experimental results. In art, however, I think that the question of the reality behind the model should be of the utmost importance.
Marcos Cuzziol
View more