The Universe as Quantum Computer

by Seth Lloyd

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge MA 02139 USA

December 17, 2013

http://arxiv.org/pdf/1312.4455.pdf

Abstract

This article reviews 

the history of digital computation, 

and investigates just how far 

the concept of computation can be taken. 

In particular, I address the question 

of whether the universe itself 

is in fact a giant computer, and if so, 

just what kind of computer it is. 

I will show that the universe 

can be regarded as a giant quantum computer.

The quantum computational model of the universe 

explains a variety of observed phenomena 

not encompassed by the ordinary laws of physics. 

In particular, the model shows 

that the the quantum computational universe 

automatically gives rise 

to a mix of randomness and order, 

and to both simple and complex systems.

1 Introduction

It is no secret that over the last fifty years 

the world has undergone a paradigm shift 

in both science and technology. 

Until the mid-twentieth century,

the dominant paradigm 

in both science and technology 

was that of energy: 

over the previous centuries, 

the laws of physics had been developed

to understand the nature of energy 

and how it could be transformed.