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PODCAST

Justin Riddle Podcast

Justin Riddle Podcast

Justin Riddle explores the nature of consciousness from the perspective of recent breakthroughs in neuroscience, biology, computer science, and physics. Quantum computers and quantum biology are revolutionizing technology and science. What can these new advances teach us about ourselves?

science social sciences

All Episodes

00:46:51

Knightian Freedom: Can a quantum computer swerve from...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2025/09/07

In this episode of the Justin Riddle Podcast, Justin dives into the concept of Knightian Freedom where large enough computational spaces become intractably complex to the point where maybe freewill is possible. The focus of this episode is a paper put out by Hartmut Neven (of Google’s Quantum AI Lab) and colleagues from 2021 entitled “Do robots powered by a quantum processor have the freedom to swerve?” This paper discusses how the exponentially large spaces that quantum computers evolve into are so

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00:51:11

Three Dimensions of Time: reconciling experienced...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2025/09/07

In this episode of the Justin Riddle Podcast, Justin explores a novel conceptualization of time as comprised of three distinct dimensions in an attempt to make sense of our subjective experience. Traditional physics does not account for the experience of always being in the present moment, time flowing from the past into the future, and the openness of the future versus the locked in events from the past. Often times we are told that our subjective experience of time is an illusion: that there is no

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01:23:45

#40 – Nested Observer Windows: the case for...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2024/06/08

In episode 40 of the Justin Riddle Podcast, Justin provides an update of the Nested Observer Windows (NOW) Model. The paper describing this theory was recently published in the open-access Neuroscience of Consciousness journal (link below) and this video is an extended version of the Plenary talk that Justin gave at the Science of Consciousness conference in April of 2024 in Tucson, AZ (link below to conference recording). The NOW Model describes the mind as a nested hierarchical system in which

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42:09

#39 – The Problem with Natural Selection: exploring...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2024/03/31

In episode 39 of the quantum consciousness series, Justin Riddle explores the mechanism behind natural selection in evolution. This is not a question about humans evolving from animals, but instead is raising the question about what is the driving force behind the process of evolution. Charles Darwin described evolution as a random expression of features that are then selected by the environment. The animals that are able to reproduce will preferentially spread their features to next generations

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00:42:10

#38 – Reject the Multiverse: taking wave function...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2024/03/31

In episode 38 of the quantum consciousness series, Justin Riddle takes on the concept of the multiverse and provides arguments for why he thinks we live in a single universe. The concept of the multiverse arose from the recognition that at the fundamental level quantum systems are splitting into different possible futures. This split in space-time reality if taken at face value implies that the universe is splitting into multiple parallel universes in which slightly different events take place

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01:13:23

#37 – Decorated permutation in conscious agents: an...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2023/08/04

In episode 37 of the quantum consciousness series, Justin Riddle takes a deep dive into Donald Hoffman’s conscious agent model and relates it to the leading theories of quantum consciousness. The structure of this episode is an introduction to Hoffman’s model of conscious agents, then an interview with Don Hoffman in November 2022, and finally some reflections on the implications of this model. Hoffman begins by describing the interface theory of perception: we have mistaken the external “physical”

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00:44:39

#36 – Quantum Simulation Theory: the limitations of...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2023/06/26

In episode 36 of the quantum consciousness series, Justin Riddle describes the popular simulation hypothesis and discusses the implication of running the simulation using quantum computers. First off, Justin makes the argument that the foundation of the simulation hypothesis is strictly based in a digital computer framework. If the world is deterministic and digitizable, then it could in principle be simulated. But, if the world is quantum mechanical – with superposition, measurement, and

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00:41:02

#35 - Digital AI is not Conscious: the role of...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2023/06/26

In episode 35 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle explores the role of quantum computers in the current revolution in digital artificial intelligence (AI). First, Justin describes some of the basics of large language models at a high level. In essence, digital AI can be conceptualized as a series of weighted matrices trained by fitting and updating the weights according to patterns found in extensive training sets of data. While these digital AI systems are indeed quite powerful as

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00:39:34

#34 - In defense of freewill: three ways that...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2023/03/27

In episode 34 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle puts forth a defense of freewill. In a deterministic universe guided by physical principles, there is no room for freewill. Surely, we must succumb to the crushing reality that our choices do not matter, that the self is an illusion, and that the very concept of time is illusory – nothing more than a social construct or hallucinations. While this is indeed the typical mainstream opinion on the state of our consciousness, quantum

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01:32:48

#33 – Testing consciousness causes collapse: an...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2023/02/15

In episode 33 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle interviews Kelvin McQueen on his recent theory on how consciousness might collapse the wave function. Kelvin is a professor of philosophy at Chapman University who investigates the nature of consciousness and role it might play in quantum mechanics. The measurement problem in quantum mechanics is that there is a smoothly and deterministically evolving superposition that is abruptly “measured” and reduced to a finite physical state, but

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01:29:25

#32 - Symmetry in Qualia - an interview with Andres...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2023/02/13

In episode 32 of the quantum consciousness series, Justin Riddle interviews Andres Gomez-Emilsson, the director of research of the Qualia Research Institute. Andres is passionate about understanding qualia, which is the feeling and quality of subjective experience. In this interview, we discuss many of Andres’ theories: mathematical fictionalism, symmetry of valence theory, neural annealing as it pertains to psychedelic therapy, and antitolerance medications to reduce suffering. First up, we discuss

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00:39:06

#31 – Geometry of Mind: lattices, quasicrystals, and...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2022/11/03

In episode 31 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses the role of geometry in our understanding of the universe. The discussion begins looking at the manifestation of geometric forms in the world around us in the form of crystals. Crystals are a cornerstone of modern technology as they increase the controllability of the physical world around us through their structure. Many researchers studying quantum biology theorize that when highly ordered structures, often by the creation

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01:14:40

#30 - Current Events in Orch-OR: an interview with...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2022/11/03

In episode 30 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle sits down with Stuart Hameroff to get an update on current events in the Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch-OR) Model. This interview took place on August 30th, 2022 in his home in Tucson, AZ. The interview covered four major topics. Our discussion of these topics is interleaved with my reaction, summary, and commentary on the topic of discussion. First, we discussed a recent submitted study that found coherent transmission of

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00:39:52

#29 - Synchronicity: your mind is entangled with the...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2022/09/05

In episode 29 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses the phenomenon of synchronicity and possible mechanisms through quantum mechanics that could give way to its rigorous scientific study. Synchronicity was coined by the psychologist Carl Jung and is defined as an apparently meaningful coincidence between your thought and some event in the world around you. Examples of synchronicity include simple moments of non-locality such as thinking about a friend and then they call you,

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00:51:55

#28 - Quantum Teleportation: a possible mechanism for...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2022/09/05

In episode 28 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle describes how quantum teleportation works and wonders whether a quantum computer mind could be teleported out of the body. The episode begins with a discussion of the bizarre, yet common, experience of leaving one’s body during a traumatic event to observe the unfolding of events from the outside. These near-death experiences are baffling to scientists, and often dismissed as an unusual chemical or electrical fluctuation in the brain

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00:45:55

#27 – Quantum Soul: What about you survives for a...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2022/07/26

In episode 27 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses the proposal of a quantum soul. The soul is the part of you that survives your entire lifetime. In this episode, we discuss three properties of quantum mechanics that might provide a novel solution to this age-old mystery. First of all, we discuss the curious discovery of Bose-Einstein Condensation. This state of matter was observed in the laboratory when supercooling liquid helium down to two degrees above absolute zero. The

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00:32:33

#26 - Heisenberg’s Uncertainty in Biology and Human...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2022/06/27

In episode 26 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle: the idea that every quantum bit comprises a bit of information and a bit of entropy such that knowledge of one dimension reduced knowledge of the other. We can think of each qubit has having two perpendicular axes: zero/one and plus/minus. The state of the qubit represents a point moving around on these axes. When you measure a qubit in the zero/one dimension, then it ends up getting

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00:44:04

#25 - Quantum Error Correction: why we need it and a...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2022/06/27

In episode 25 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses quantum error correction, a protocol by which noise from the environment is actively counteracted in order to create quantum computations that are robust against the destructive chaos of the environment. Quantum computers are on the near horizon with companies like Google and IBM actively working to improve the technology. These computers will revolutionize information technology by providing a speed-up to the run time of

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00:48:54

#24 - Why neuroscience needs a quantum revolution

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2022/05/02

In episode 24 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses why neuroscience is in need of a quantum revolution. This revolution is underway in the field of information technology and low-level biology. Quantum computers are actively being developed and are on the precipice of overcoming the computational power of digital computers. Meanwhile, biology is increasingly acknowledging the role that quantum mechanics plays in various processes, including photosynthesis and magnetic-field

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00:45:31

#23 - Quantum Interrogation: counterfactual...

Justin Riddle Podcast ·

2022/03/30

In episode 23 of the Quantum Consciousness series, Justin Riddle discusses quantum interrogation, the observation that in certain scenarios a quantum system can access the result of a measurement without actually making that measurement. This counterfactual measurement is best exemplified in the Elitzur-Vaidman bomb test, in which a bomb is determined to be real or a dud by sending a superposition at the bomb that shifts the probability distribution (or wave function) of a quantum system. The

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42 results

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