Spacetime Is The Memory Of A Self Knowing Universe | Federico Faggin

Our follow-up with CPU inventor Federico Faggin on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FUFewGHLLg&t=1s sponsored by Consensus AI: the AI powered science search engine with access to 220+ million studies. Click: https://get.consensus.app/essentia for a free trial of Consensus Pro and 30% discount on a yearly plan (offer until 3-31-26) In this conversation with Hans Busstra, the legendary CPU inventor explains his quantum theory of consciousness in more detail and outlines some of his novel ideas, to be presented in his upcoming new book. He discusses, for instance, how we should regard our material universe: “spacetime and matter are the permanent memory of the experience of the self knowing of One.” For a scientific elaboration of Federico's theory, see: "Hard Problem and Free Will: an information-theoretical approach," Giacomo Mauro D’Ariano and Federico Faggin: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2012.06580 Federico's book "Irreducible: Consciousness, Life, Computers, and Human Nature": https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/essentia-books/our-books/irreducible-consciousness-life-computers-human-nature Our previous videos with Federico Faggin: • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssE4h70qKWk • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nOtLj8UYCw • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVS3-NDUC0M 0:00 Introduction 4:31 Who are we truly as humans? 5:52 Why do we often feel separated? 7:35 Is the ego part of the ‘Seity’, the conscious field that we are? 8:31 Spacetime as One that knows itself… 9:55 Federico’s cosmology in contrast to the Big Bang story 15:37 John Wheeler’s participatory universe, and consciousness in relationship to our material universe 18:51 Why Einstein couldn’t make the leap to accept quantum reality 20:04 Quantum collapse as a free will decision of quantum fields 20:50 Hans gives a recap of his understanding of the drone metaphor 25:22 Where is the self-knowing of One coming from? 27:13 The first time that One knows itself 28:09 The identity of a Seity 28:42 Self-knowing as the true Big Bang 31:43 Any new knowing is a creation 33:37 Federico’s view on body, mind, and spirit 33:57 How to distinguish between mind and spirit? 36:15 Spacetime as the overlap between spirit and body 37:29 There is no past 40:11 Think of our shareable reality as the display of a quantum computer 41:24 Federico’s hypothesis of what dark matter is 43:07 About our materialist bias 44:33 How can we explain life as randomness? 45:51 To what extent do you need a transcendent experience? 47:42 On the object/subject divide people think they can uphold 50:49 Has your experience of oneness become a place you can revisit? 52:07 What is your response to people saying mystics and gurus already knew all of this? 52:47 About our sponsor: Consensus AI 56:35 The rubber hand experiment 59:39 What mechanism could be at play in out-of-body experiences (OBEs)? 1:02:11 On the ethical implications of Federico’s theory 1:03:26 On spirituality vs religion 1:04:58 There is no ontological evil 1:06:41 How this theory has affected Federico’s own life 1:08:30 Is everything ‘meant to be’? 1:12:10 Our incarnation as an equation simulated under different conditions 1:14:05 Federico’s thought compared to Christianity 1:17:48 On the dangers of AI 1:18:50 Why conscious AI is a fantasy 1:22:40 AI is not the beginning of a new era, but it marks the beginning of one 1:24:10 Federico’s hopes and fears 1:25:09 What is happiness? 1:27:37 How to discern when we take spiritual experiences more seriously 1:31:46 The help Federico sought after his own transformative experience 1:33:07 The hide and seek of the universe Ethics statement: Essentia Foundation accepts sponsorships to help us create more and better content but is editorially completely independent and not affiliated with its sponsors. We only accept sponsorships that are compatible with our mission and scientific standards. Copyright © 2026 by Essentia Foundation. All rights reserved.