Teleportation presents an intriguing challenge. At its core, it hinges on grasping complex concepts from quantum physics. To successfully teleport a human being would necessitate an enormous amount of information processing. While teleportation has indeed been demonstrated in laboratory settings—albeit on a much smaller scale with particles like electrons and atoms—it raises profound questions about identity. Specifically, what constitutes your essence? Would entering a teleportation device signal the end of your existence?

These inquiries are not novel, yet the insights I’ll share may reshape your understanding of the universe and your place within it. Central to this discussion are the themes of information and consciousness. In my previous post, I explored the idea that consciousness might be fundamentally linked to quantum processes. While reading that piece isn't mandatory for this one, it would provide valuable context for my upcoming explorations.

To begin, let’s clarify the mechanics of teleportation. This phenomenon occurs in our tangible world but primarily involves the transmission of information rather than the physical matter itself. Every physical system can be characterized by a specific quantity of information, and fluctuations in this information can significantly influence energy dynamics. Tasks that require handling complex information demand more energy than simpler ones. In fact, cramming too much information into a limited space could even result in a black hole. Thus, information is as substantial as energy, mass, or electric charge. Teleportation is an intricate operation focused on information transfer, yet a simplified explanation is available via Minutephysics.

There are three critical aspects to understand regarding the lethal potential of teleportation:

1. Teleportation conveys the information from one set of particles to another. This process involves entangling two particle sets and measuring them indirectly, causing the state of one set to alter in response to the other. This necessitates sending information about the measurements between observers at a speed no greater than that of light. When this information is transferred, the new particle set is rearranged to replicate the configuration of the original.
2. Reconfiguring the second particle set demands that the original be randomized. This principle arises from the No-Cloning Theorem, which asserts that duplicating every detail of a system to create an identical copy is impossible. While approximate replicas can be made, perfect duplicates cannot exist. This conclusion is grounded in the mathematics of quantum field theory, the most validated theory in physics. Consequently, it is impossible to relay all information about one particle set to another without dismantling the original. Minutephysics also offers an insightful video on the No-Cloning Theorem worth watching.

3. During teleportation, information is solely transferred; it cannot be created or annihilated. This fundamental quantum mechanics principle—the law of information conservation—dictates that the total information within a closed system remains constant. In the context of teleportation, this means that the data used to reconstruct a teleported entity must originate from the original. The initial entity cannot retain information about its original form; the only means for it to lose this information is to be randomized at the subatomic level. PBS Spacetime has an excellent explanation of why information conservation is vital.

If you were to be teleported, every particle in your body would be scanned, and their information sent to another set of particles, which would then be reconfigured at the subatomic level. In an ideal scenario, perfect teleportation would recreate your body identically to how it was at the moment of scanning, including the precise quantum states of the electrons surrounding your atoms. As previously discussed, consciousness is likely tied either to your brain's informational processing or its physical structure. Both criteria would be satisfied by the perfectly reconfigured version of you, possessing the same quantum states in their brain as you had pre-teleportation. They would process information identically, maintaining consciousness and retaining all your memories since the original brain's data would be present in their new one. Thus, the reconstructed individual would be physically indistinguishable, conscious, and memory intact, while the particles comprising your original body would be randomly dispersed. It's evident which version is truly "you," isn't it?

However, the dilemma lies in the fact that an external observer has no means to determine whether the reconstructed individual is still "you." Even the rebuilt version may not recognize themselves as the same person who entered the teleportation device. They might believe their existence began with the formation of their new body, with all prior memories implanted by the machine, including the recollection of stepping inside it. Hence, if teleportation were to terminate its users, no one left could ever know.

From my perspective, there's no inherent reason why flawless quantum teleportation would result in death. If a physical system governs consciousness—like the potential systems mentioned previously—then consciousness shouldn't rely on the exact source of the particles that constitute it. Our bodies are constantly exchanging particles. What defines your identity likely relates more to the patterns of physical and chemical interactions that sustain your life than to the individual particles themselves. A teleportation machine would merely replace your atoms at a rate quicker than the universe typically does. Ideal teleportation would maintain the pattern of activity that constitutes "you," without issue.

The catch, however, is that we've only considered perfect teleportation. It’s probable that no teleportation apparatus we could devise would manage to convey 100% of the information about one set of particles to another. Some data would likely be corrupted during transmission. How precise must teleportation be to safeguard someone's consciousness? It seems our consciousness might not be affected if other bodily parts besides the brain aren't perfectly replicated. Research has shown that removing certain brain sections does not halt consciousness. I hypothesize that the only teleportation aspect directly influencing consciousness would be the transfer of the brain regions that govern it (if such regions exist). What if these crucial brain areas are not transmitted accurately?

Earlier, I mentioned the possibility of imperfectly copying an object. Let’s consider a thought experiment. Imagine a machine scans you and creates the best clone it can. You then step through a teleportation device that reconstructs you in a way that coincidentally matches the imperfect clone. This scenario wouldn't breach the No-Cloning theorem since neither individual was directly derived from the other; they merely ended up identical, which is permissible. These two imperfect reconstructions of you would share an identical conscious experience at the moment the teleported individual was formed. However, prior to entering the teleporter, your conscious experience diverged from that of your imperfect copy. This implies you wouldn't share the same conscious experience with the imperfect version emerging from the teleportation device. Consequently, the imperfect teleportation machine would result in the demise of the original you. This conclusion arises from viewing consciousness as the continuous processing of information in a distinctly defined manner, a notion rooted in the global neuronal workspace (GNW) theory. According to this GNW interpretation, anyone with a slightly different information processing method than yours cannot be considered "you," including an imperfect reconstruction from a teleportation machine.

Nonetheless, this GNW perspective suggests that you are not the same individual as you age, given that aging alters your information processing. Most of us still regard our current selves as continuous with our past selves, which raises questions about the validity of this GNW interpretation of consciousness. It hinges on how much variability in your information processing can occur before it disrupts your conscious continuity. A GNW framework that permits your brain to process information slightly differently without transforming you into a new entity would enable you to survive teleportation. For instance, if you remain the same person after aging for a few seconds, it stands to reason you would still be you after passing through a nearly flawless teleportation machine.

Another theory of consciousness is the integrated information theory (IIT), which posits that consciousness emerges from specific physical structures capable of interacting with their environment. A teleportation apparatus may not perfectly preserve these structures, but that's likely acceptable since our bodies already struggle to maintain them from one moment to the next. These structures exist in a continuum. Under this theory, it shouldn’t matter if the reconstructed you doesn't perfectly replicate your prior self, as they would still continue responding to their surroundings and having experiences. What defines them as "you" is the causal relationship between your experiences and theirs; one cannot exist without the other. This parallels the notion of seeing your past self as "you," even though that self didn't process information in the same way or contain the same atoms as your current self. If IIT holds true, then an imperfect teleportation machine shouldn’t terminate the original you.

In conclusion, if you believe that your essence lies in the precise manner in which you perceive the world, right down to the subatomic level, you might want to refrain from teleportation. You would also need to cease your forward march through time altogether. Good luck with that endeavor. Conversely, if you contend that your identity is shaped by the series of experiences throughout your life, feel free to teleport to your heart's desire. However, if you are hesitant to entrust your existence to quantum physicists you do not know, I recommend exploring wormholes instead. They may turn out to be quite similar.

Works Cited

Steele, Zia. Is Consciousness a Quantum Phenomenon? 16 Aug. 2020, medium.com/whiteboard-to-infinity/is-consciousness-a-quantum-phenomenon-fcbb65bed950.

Koch, Christof. What Is Consciousness? 1 June 2018, www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-consciousness/.

Dettmer, Phillip. What Are You? 31 May 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQVmkDUkZT4. Accessed 16 Aug. 2020.

Reich, Henry. The No Cloning Theorem, Minutephysics, 27 Dec. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=owPC60Ue0BE.

Reich, Henry. How to Teleport Schrödinger’s Cat, Minutephysics, 15 Mar. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxQK1WDYI_k.

Dettmer, Phillip. Emergence — How Stupid Things Become Smart Together, Kurzgesagt, 16 Nov. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=16W7c0mb-rE.

O’Dowd, Matt. Computing a Universe Simulation, PBS Spacetime, 10 Oct. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GLgZvTCbaA&t=304s.

O’Dowd, Matt. Why Quantum Information Is Never Destroyed, PBS Spacetime, 23 May 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF-9Dy6iB_4.

O’Dowd, Matt. Are You a Boltzmann Brain? | Space Time, PBS Spacetime, 26 Apr. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhy4Z_32kQo.