Imagine a universe that is not just described by quantum mechanics, but is itself a vast quantum computer—one so ambitious that its very attempt to model the cosmos required it to expand and become as large as the universe it sought to simulate. Perhaps it started small, as a project to model the universe, but was given the ability to expand as needed for the task. As it grew, it needed to grow to model itself growing. This might explain the cosmic expansion, the interpretation of the Big Bang.
What If Cosmic Expansion Is the Growth of a Universe-Sized Quantum Computer?
Imagine the universe as a quantum computer—one so ambitious that it set out to model the cosmos itself. At first, perhaps, this cosmic computer was compact, a small-scale project designed to simulate the laws and structure of the universe. But as it began its calculation, it faced a unique challenge: to truly model the universe in all its complexity, it had to account for its own growth, its own computational needs, and ultimately, itself.
The Universe as a Self-Expanding Quantum Computer
Recent theoretical work suggests that the universe can be viewed as a quantum gravity computer, where every particle interaction and energy transfer is a bit of information processed at the Planck scale—the smallest units of matter and time known to physics[1][5][7]. In this model, the observable universe, or “Hubble sphere,” functions as a massive computational system, performing calculations at an astonishing rate—on the order of $$10^{104}$$ bits per second[1].
But what if, as the computer tried to model the universe in greater detail, it needed more resources? If the simulation required more “memory” and “processing power,” the computer would have to expand—growing in size and complexity to match the universe it was simulating. This recursive process, where the quantum computer grows to model itself growing, could offer a radical explanation for cosmic expansion and even the Big Bang.
Cosmic Expansion as Computational Necessity
In this scenario, the Big Bang isn’t just the start of physical existence—it’s the boot-up sequence of the universe-sized quantum computer. As the computation unfolds, the need to simulate more detailed interactions and emergent phenomena drives the expansion of the computer’s “hardware,” which is the fabric of spacetime itself[1][7]. Each Planck-scale event is a computational tick, updating the universe and recalculating its structure in real time.
This model reframes cosmic inflation and ongoing expansion as the natural consequence of a self-modeling quantum computation. The universe expands not just because of some primordial explosion, but because the act of modeling itself—down to every quantum fluctuation—demands ever more space and resources.
Emergent Laws and Self-Reference
If the universe is a self-expanding quantum computer, the laws of physics become emergent properties—stable patterns that arise from the ongoing, recursive computation[7]. Gravity, electromagnetism, and the other forces are not imposed from outside, but are layers of processing within the universal algorithm. The distinction between the model and the modeled dissolves: the universe is both the computer and the computation, both the hardware and the software.
Implications for Cosmology
– Cosmic Expansion: The growth of the universe is the growth of the quantum computer, driven by the need to simulate itself in ever-greater detail.
– The Big Bang: The initial singularity is the start of the computation—a minimal system that rapidly expands as it begins to model itself.
– Physical Laws: What we perceive as fixed laws may be the most stable, long-running rules in the computation, potentially shifting in extreme conditions or different regions of the cosmos[7].
– Energy and Information: Energy conservation is built into the computation, with each Planck event perfectly updating the system without external input[1].
A Universe That Computes Itself
This vision, while speculative, aligns with the growing view among physicists that the universe is fundamentally informational and computational in nature[1][3][5][7]. The expansion of the cosmos, in this light, is not just a physical phenomenon but a profound computational necessity—a universe-sized quantum computer, growing ever larger as it seeks to understand and model itself.
In this framework, the universe is not just described by quantum mechanics—it is quantum computation incarnate, expanding because its own ambition to model reality demands nothing less than the cosmos itself.
Read More
[1] https://thequantuminsider.com/2024/11/09/weighty-subject-is-the-universe-as-a-giant-quantum-gravity-computer/
[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02646-x
[3] http://cmsw.mit.edu/angles/2015/is-the-universe-actually-a-giant-quantum-computer/
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programming_the_Universe
[5] https://arxiv.org/abs/1312.4455
[6] https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/physics/quantum-computer-universe-collapse/
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PONu9_8rFfI
[8] https://www.amazon.com/Programming-Universe-Quantum-Computer-Scientist/dp/1400033861