Book Reviewed: Quantum Information and Consciousness: A Gentle Introduction, by Danko D. Georgiev

Consciousness and emergent properties of quantum information

The concept of matter and energy has dominated physics, and this has made it difficult to fit consciousness into the laws of physics. Recent studies in quantum gravity and thermodynamics of black holes has demonstrated that information is primary to the structure of quantum and relativistic physics. This "It from Bit" perspective has more relevance for consciousness than originally thought. In fact, quantum information is as fundamental as energy/matter in spacetime. Physical reality requires energy/information duality and consciousness for quantum states collapse. The connection of consciousness and energy-information duality is like that of wave-particle duality in early 20th century.

Consciousness is primarily an informational system. By understanding quantum states as an information system, the energy/information duality and the corresponding nature of quantum spacetime and non-local behavior of quantum reality may be placed in proper context. Quantum information laws leads to a network that creates fields, particles, matter, spacetime, dimensions, quantum gravity, and consciousness; some of these are emergent phenomenon. They are not derivable from the laws or organizing principles or knowledge about their constituents. In fact, emergent properties like quantum gravity and consciousness are not identical with, reducible to, or deducible from properties of matter. The quantum computing with quantum states means that both information and computation are part of the quantum reality, even though the quantum states themselves are not directly measurable. Information is proto-physical, which describe as how information can exist without energy or matter encoding it.

The current information age consists of classical information in bits. The future information age represents quantum encoded information using qubits and ebits (EPR; quantum entanglement bits) which do not have classical energy nor classical spacetime properties. Artificial intelligence generated on the principles of quantum computation would match human consciousness, since artificial intelligence based on classical computation/information processing is less compatible with human consciousness/intelligence. With the advent of quantum computers and quantum information processing systems, one can simulate many testable predictions. Technology will also allow experiments that shore up or shore down theoretical predictions. It is certain that Consciousness in biological is a result of quantum information processing. When consciousness is mapped into a nonclassical and non-energy domain of quantum information, many of the paradoxical problems of energy dominated solutions dissolve.

In this book, the author describes human consciousness in terms of quantum information processing. The first half of the book is largely introductory. In the rest of the book, we learn that information processing in the brain microtubule proteins is the center of emerging consciousness. The quantum information is converted into specific protein tubulin tail conformational states, and long-range collective coherent behavior of the tubulin tails runs as solitary waves that propagate along the microtubules, which is at the roots of the origins of consciousness.

In one of his papers, the author criticizes Penrose-Hameroff model of quantum information processing as false. One of the shortcomings in this paper is that numerous testable predictions have been made and this may be tested with modern technology. Potential features of quantum computation could explain enigmatic aspects of consciousness. The Penrose-Hameroff model known as orchestrated objective reduction (Orch OR) suggests that quantum superposition and a form of quantum computation occur in microtubule cylindrical protein lattices of the cell cytoskeleton within the brain's neurons. Microtubules couple to and regulate neural-level synaptic functions, and they become mini quantum computers because of dynamical lattice structure, quantum-level subunit states and intermittent isolation from environmental interactions. In this biological setting, this proposal differs from quantum computers in which quantum state collapse is caused by environmental decoherence, which has an element of randomness, but reduction of microtubule quantum superposition to classical output states occurs by an objective factor, perhaps quantum gravity threshold stemming from instability in Planck-scale separations (superpositions) in spacetime.

Consciousness is a universal phenomenon in all living systems and intelligent machines. In biological systems that include plants and microbial systems have microtubule proteins and perhaps use this as the base on which various levels of consciousness may emerge from quantum information and information processing. Even the simplest living organism possess consciousness at a rudimentary level. Plants do not have brain or any form of central nervous system is known to have equivalent neurobiological experiences. Plant neurobiology is an evolved field and plant philosophy is starting to generate interest among some biologists. And so is the existence of quantum physics in biological process like photosynthesis and migratory behavior among some avian species. Bees have been shown to understand the concept of zero. So, any mechanism proposed should have some common features in all living systems.

Reading this book is somewhat difficult and requires knowledge of undergraduate level physics and neurobiology. But the ideas presented in this book is not tested and remains a theoretical view.