Location Zoom Webinar
It is remarkable that a single physics experiment can reveal “metaphysical” facts; that is, facts about the fundamental nature of existence. I am talking about Bell experiments, the subject of the 2022 Nobel Prize in physics, based on Bell’s 1964 theorem. These falsify not a particular theory, but all theories which satisfy a set of natural metaphysical assumptions. In recent years, new theorems along these lines have been devised, and I will talk about one by myself and co-workers that combines Bell’s 1964 idea with those of two other scientists of roughly the same era. Specifically, realizing a thinking machine (à la Turing) on a quantum computer, in the role of Wigner’s friend, on one side of a Bell experiment, would rule out a set of still widely held metaphysical assumptions. Either that, or it would discover completely new physics, which would be even more exciting. I will finish by presenting my own tentative metaphysical commitments, about sentience in AI amongst other things, which have been influenced by the theorem.
The “Thinking Beyond” webinar series features renowned physicists Paul Davies, Sara Walker and Maulik Parikh from the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University and addresses a big question/topic in science. This month, Howard Wiseman will present the topic and will be joined by Paul Davies and Sara Walker.
Howard Wiseman is an Australian theoretical quantum physicist, best known for his work in quantum information, quantum foundations, and quantum measurement and control. After completing his PhD at the University of Queensland in 1994, he did a postdoc at the University of Auckland, before returning to Queensland in 1996. He has been at Griffith University since 1999, and was the Director of the Centre for Quantum Dynamics there from 2007 to 2025. Wiseman has won several Australian medals and prizes for his physics research, and was the senior author on a paper that won the 2023 Ehrenfest Award for Quantum Foundations from the Austrian (not Australian!) Academy of Science. He has been elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the American Physical Society, and the Optical Society of America.