Quantum theory has nothing to say about when observations occur and what questions are posed to the system. This creates an unsatisfactory gap in the theory, because future evolution of the system depends on whether a question is asked and if so, what the question was. The Stapp model for the role of conscious deliberation in quantum theory can be represented as an influence diagram . Although Stapp does not formally specify a value component in his model, he speculates that a brain might compare multiple macroscopically distinct possibilities in parallel and select according to psychological criteria. Value nodes in an influence diagram provide a natural way to model the psychological valuation of each possibility.
More faithful representations evolve as information is gained via the measurement process.
The ontology presented here provides a unified account of the physical and mental aspects of the scientific description of the world. In closing, it is worth considering the sociological implications of the ontology proposed here, especially if it proves to be fruitful in generating engineering advances. If all quantum systems are in some sense conscious, then building a quantum computer would amount to creating an engineered proto-consciousness. Because all physical systems are quantum systems, this is true even of digital computers, although it would appear that the degree to which they exhibit the property we call consciousness at the human level is extremely limited. However, we may soon succeed in building adaptively intelligent quantum computers.