The interface theory of perception maintains that sensory systems evolved to present agents with an ‘adaptive desktop’ rather than a veridical picture of the world. Physical reality is an evolutionary construct. By contrast, consciousness and agency are fundamental, irreducible elements not emergent from physics. Building on this framework, the quantum interface theory (QIT) is introduced. Several core quantum-mechanical features, such as entanglement, superposition, and decoherence, are artefacts of the interface. Moreover, the formalism of ‘quantum conscious agents’ is sketched to provide a foundation for QIT. Thereby, perception is modelled as a quantum instrument, enabling the study of back‐reactions on agent‐environment dynamics. Consciousness exhibits quantum-like properties when it ‘measures itself’, leading to the following prediction: signatures of quantum coherence in biological systems correlate to consciousness only if they modulate an agent’s interface dynamics. By integrating evolutionary theory, quantum information, and metaphysics, QIT offers a unifying framework for modern consciousness science.
Robert Prentner (Sun,) studied this question.