Experimental test of local observer independence

Abstract

The scientific method relies on facts, established through repeated measurements and agreed upon universally, independently of who observed them. In quantum mechanics the objectivity of observations is not so clear, most markedly exposed in Wigner’s eponymous thought experiment where two observers can experience seemingly different realities. The question whether the observers’ narratives can be reconciled has only recently been made accessible to empirical investigation, through recent no-go theorems that construct an extended Wigner’s friend scenario with four observers. In a state-of-the-art six-photon experiment, we realize this extended Wigner’s friend scenario, experimentally violating the associated Bell-type inequality by five standard deviations. If one holds fast to the assumptions of locality and free choice, this result implies that quantum theory should be interpreted in an observer-dependent way.

Geographic Disparity in Machine Intelligence Approaches for Archaeological Remote Sensing Research

“…Scientific observations are subjective [3] and as such require reproducible methods for deriving information. MI can provide a means of acquiring and deriving data from the archaeological record in systematic and reproducible ways, and by doing so can reveal substantial information that was previously overlooked.…”

“…The archaeological record holds important information about the past, but our understanding of human history is often patchy, incomplete, and disjointed, as datasets are unavailable or incompatible across research projects [1,2]. This is compounded by the fact that scientific observations are subjective, leading to biases in different analysis procedures [3]. Machine intelligence (MI) research (AI, machine learning, deep learning, etc.)…”

Commentary: False-Positive Effect in the Radin Double-Slit Experiment on Observer Consciousness as Determined With the Advanced Meta-Experimental Protocol

“…17). That statement dismisses not only the 16 relevant experiments published by our group, but also a dozen similar studies published by three independent groups (Ibison and Jeffers, 1998;Guerrer, 2019). Eleven of those 28 experiments, all of which employed designs that did not require adjustment for multiple comparisons, were significant (at p < 0.05, two-tailed).…”

“…The study was funded by Walleczek in his role as director of a private foundation, and we did not publish the results of that experiment at Walleczek's request. The study was part of a series of experiments we and others have performed to investigate the role of the observer in quantum mechanics, an enigma discussed at length by the founders of quantum theory and recently informed by empirical evidence supporting the idea that quantum theory "should be interpreted in an observer-dependent way" (Proietti et al, 2019, p. 1;Rosenblum and Kuttner, 2006).…”

Emergence of Objective Reality in an Irreversible Friend thought Experiment

“…[10] This did not appear to deter experimenters, two groups of which have placed a pseudo-observer into an experiment in the manner of Wigner's friend and verified that certain correlation conditions are met. One uses six photons [11]. The observers in the experiments are not conscious of course, consisting of subatomic entities which may not have the freedom to activate the Frauchiger-Renner argument.…”