How quantum information applications inspire research on quantum foundations

Although quantum theory has been validated experimentally with remarkable precision, numerous fundamental questions about the theory are still open. One of them is whether the theory can be applied to macroscopic systems (such as Schrödinger’s famous cat) and whether it remains valid on cosmological scales. Despite limited progress on these questions in recent decades, there is now cause for optimism. Research in quantum information, driven by applications such as quantum computing and cryptography, has yielded profound theoretical insights and experimental technology that could facilitate testing quantum theory in new ways. In this talk, I will explain what such information-theory-inspired experiments on the foundations of quantum theory may look like.