A free energy principle for generic quantum systems

TL;DR

This paper extends the Free Energy Principle to quantum systems, proposing that quantum agents minimize prediction error and are linked to unitarity, with implications for biological quantum coherence and future research on quantum communication.

Contribution

It reformulates the FEP within quantum information theory, showing how quantum systems can act as observers and agents, connecting the principle to unitarity and biological quantum coherence.

Findings

Quantum systems can be viewed as observers minimizing Bayesian prediction error.

The quantum FEP is asymptotically equivalent to the Principle of Unitarity.

Biological systems may utilize quantum coherence as a computational and communication resource.

Abstract

The Free Energy Principle (FEP) states that under suitable conditions of weak coupling, random dynamical systems with sufficient degrees of freedom will behave so as to minimize an upper bound, formalized as a variational free energy, on surprisal (a.k.a., self-information). This upper bound can be read as a Bayesian prediction error. Equivalently, its negative is a lower bound on Bayesian model evidence (a.k.a., marginal likelihood). In short, certain random dynamical systems evince a kind of self-evidencing. Here, we reformulate the FEP in the formal setting of spacetime-background free, scale-free quantum information theory. We show how generic quantum systems can be regarded as observers, which with the standard freedom of choice assumption become agents capable of assigning semantics to observational outcomes. We show how such agents minimize Bayesian prediction error in environments characterized by uncertainty, insufficient learning, and quantum contextuality. We show that in its quantum-theoretic formulation, the FEP is asymptotically equivalent to the Principle of Unitarity. Based on these results, we suggest that biological systems employ quantum coherence as a computational resource and - implicitly - as a communication resource. We summarize a number of problems for future research, particularly involving the resources required for classical communication and for detecting and responding to quantum context switches.