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arxiv: 2604.26530 · v1 · submitted 2026-04-29 · 🪐 quant-ph · cs.AI· gr-qc

Recognition: unknown

Fundamental Physics, Existential Risks and Human Futures

Adrian Kent (Centre for Quantum Information, DAMTP, Foundations, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics), University of Cambridge

Authors on Pith no claims yet

Pith reviewed 2026-05-07 10:46 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification 🪐 quant-ph cs.AIgr-qc
keywords quantum foundationsphysics beyond quantum theoryquantum reality problemquantum gravityartificial intelligenceexistential riskshuman futures
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The pith

The author's 25 years of work on quantum foundations makes it plausible that physics beyond quantum theory, with new evolution laws and measurement types, will be found and could transform information processing and AI.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

This paper reviews the author's explorations of the quantum reality problem, the relationship between quantum theory and gravity, and the interplay of consciousness with physical laws. It concludes that these lines of inquiry indicate we will likely discover new physics extending beyond current quantum theory. If true, this could introduce revised rules for how physical systems evolve and new ways to perform measurements. Such changes stand a significant chance of reshaping information processing technologies and the path of AI development. The paper ties these possibilities to questions of existential risks and the long-term shape of human futures.

Core claim

Over the past 25 years of investigating the quantum reality problem, quantum theory's connection to gravity, and consciousness within physical laws, these investigations make it plausible that physics beyond quantum theory will be found, potentially including both new evolution laws and new types of measurement, with a significant chance of transformative impact on information processing and on the development of and our future with AI.

What carries the argument

The author's cumulative investigations into quantum foundations, which serve as the basis for arguing the plausibility of new physics extending beyond quantum theory.

If this is right

  • New evolution laws would require revised models for the dynamics of physical systems.
  • New types of measurement would enable observations and technologies not possible under current quantum rules.
  • Information processing could undergo fundamental changes if new physical principles are incorporated.
  • AI development and its integration with society could follow altered trajectories.
  • These shifts would influence assessments of existential risks and long-term human futures.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • Foundational work of this kind could justify increased priority on experiments that test the limits of quantum theory.
  • If consciousness plays a role in physical laws as explored, new physics might offer ways to align AI with human values.
  • The perspective suggests that progress in quantum foundations could have indirect effects on managing technological risks.
  • Testable extensions might include targeted searches for small deviations from standard quantum predictions in specific regimes.

Load-bearing premise

That the author's prior work on quantum foundations actually points toward new physics beyond quantum theory rather than remaining fully consistent with existing theory.

What would settle it

High-precision experiments over the coming decades that continue to match quantum theory predictions exactly, with no evidence of new evolution laws or measurement types, combined with AI systems that advance without requiring such extensions.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 2604.26530 by Adrian Kent (Centre for Quantum Information, DAMTP, Foundations, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics), University of Cambridge.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: FIG. 1. Effect of a hodological path-guided law in a simple Ehrenfest urn model (from [20]). Ten numbered balls are initially view at source ↗
read the original abstract

Over the past 25 years, I have been involved in some intriguing developments in the foundations of physics, exploring the quantum reality problem, the relationship between quantum theory and gravity and the interplay between consciousness and physical laws. These investigations make it plausible that we will find physics beyond quantum theory, potentially including both new evolution laws and new types of measurement. There is also a significant chance they could have potentially transformative impact on information processing and on the development of and our future with AI.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

2 major / 0 minor

Summary. Over the past 25 years, the author has explored the quantum reality problem, the relationship between quantum theory and gravity, and the interplay between consciousness and physical laws. These investigations are said to make it plausible that physics beyond quantum theory will be discovered, potentially including new evolution laws and new types of measurement, with a significant chance of transformative impact on information processing and AI development, in the context of existential risks and human futures.

Significance. Should the plausibility of new physics beyond quantum theory with impacts on AI hold, this would be of high significance for fundamental physics and future technologies. However, as the manuscript is a short perspective without new technical content or detailed support for the claims, its role is more to highlight potential directions than to advance specific knowledge.

major comments (2)
  1. [Abstract] The assertion that the author's investigations 'make it plausible' that physics beyond quantum theory exists, including new evolution laws and measurement types, lacks any accompanying details, results, or references to specific prior findings that would allow the reader to evaluate this claim.
  2. [Title and Abstract] The title references existential risks and human futures, yet the manuscript does not elaborate on how the potential new physics relates to these topics.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

2 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for their review and constructive comments on our perspective manuscript. We address each major comment below and outline the revisions we will incorporate.

read point-by-point responses

  1. Referee: [Abstract] The assertion that the author's investigations 'make it plausible' that physics beyond quantum theory exists, including new evolution laws and measurement types, lacks any accompanying details, results, or references to specific prior findings that would allow the reader to evaluate this claim.

    Authors: We agree that the abstract is too concise to support evaluation of the plausibility claim. As this is a reflective perspective based on the author's prior body of work, we will revise the abstract and add a short paragraph in the main text with brief references to key prior investigations (e.g., on the quantum reality problem, quantum-gravity relations, and consciousness-physics interplay) that underpin the stated plausibility. No new technical results will be introduced. revision: yes

  2. Referee: [Title and Abstract] The title references existential risks and human futures, yet the manuscript does not elaborate on how the potential new physics relates to these topics.

    Authors: We accept that the connection to existential risks is not sufficiently developed, even though the abstract notes potential transformative effects on information processing and AI. We will revise the manuscript by adding a dedicated section that explicitly discusses how new evolution laws or measurement types could influence AI trajectories and associated existential risks to human futures, while remaining within the perspective format and without introducing new technical content. revision: yes

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No significant circularity in informal perspective essay

full rationale

The manuscript is a short perspective essay that reflects on the author's prior investigations in quantum foundations without presenting any new derivations, equations, data, or formal arguments. The central claim is an informal statement of plausibility for physics beyond quantum theory, not a technical assertion with load-bearing steps that can be isolated and shown to reduce by construction to self-citations or fitted inputs. No self-definitional, fitted-prediction, or uniqueness-imported patterns appear, as the text contains no such technical chain.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 1 axioms · 0 invented entities

The central claim rests on the domain assumption that quantum foundations research will yield physics beyond current theory; no free parameters, new entities, or additional axioms are introduced in the provided abstract.

axioms (1)
  • domain assumption Investigations into the quantum reality problem and quantum-gravity links indicate physics beyond standard quantum theory.
    Invoked in the abstract as the basis for plausibility of new evolution laws and measurements.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5379 in / 1162 out tokens · 53059 ms · 2026-05-07T10:46:49.200430+00:00 · methodology

discussion (0)

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Reference graph

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