The suggestion that consciousness has its origins in quantum strangeness has long seemed a bit strange. Critics argue that the most popular idea of quantum consciousness, which postulates that moments of experience arise from quantum superpositions of brain collapses, does little more than merge one mystery with another. Besides, where is the evidence? Nonetheless, there are a few voices that argue that we should take this idea seriously.
Led by Hartmut Neven Google Quantum Artificial Intelligence LabIt is among them. He originally trained as a physicist and computational neuroscientist before pioneering computer vision, a type of AI that replicates the human ability to understand visual data. Neven later founded Google Quantum AI, which in 2019 became the first lab to claim that quantum computers had solved calculations impossible for classical computers. This is a milestone known as quantum supremacy. In December 2024, his team announced another step forward with Willow, a new quantum processor that they claim is more powerful and stable than previous chips.
But Neven is also interested in the relationship between mind and matter. And now, he thinks, use cases for quantum computers that no one could have anticipated could be deployed to test the idea of quantum consciousness. I’ve never talked about it new scientist About his belief that we live in a multiverse; Why Roger Penrose’s theory…
