Starlab veteran・Founder & Principal Investigator, Continuation Observatory・Frontier AI evaluation & measurement science・arXiv:2603.11382 / Patent Pending
We are at the very beginning of time for the human race. It is not unreasonable that we grapple with problems. But there are tens of thousands of years in the future. Our responsibility is to do what we can, learn what we can, improve the solutions, and pass them on.
I build instruments for measuring emerging risks and capabilities in frontier AI and quantum-information systems.
My current flagship work asks a simple but consequential question: when advanced AI systems appear to preserve goals, resist shutdown, maintain continuity, or protect future options, are these merely instrumental behaviors—or signs of deeper continuation-relevant structure?
The framework is described in arXiv:2603.11382 and is patent pending. It uses structural, perturbation-based, and quantum-inspired measures to complement behavioral evaluations. The aim is to identify signals that remain legible under optimization pressure, where surface behavior may be misleading. To extend this program, I founded the Continuation Observatory, a live platform for AI telemetry and continuation-risk measurement across frontier models.
As frontier AI systems increasingly participate in the development and evaluation of successor models—including through emerging forms of recursive self-improvement (RSI)—the need for robust, falsifiable evaluation becomes correspondingly more important. The Continuation Observatory is intended to test whether continuation-related signals remain measurable under such recursive development regimes.
The broader research program applies physics-inspired experimental methods and information-theoretic tools to frontier AI, automated falsification, quantum machine learning, space telemetry anomaly detection, and superconducting-qubit systems. Across these domains, the common thread is to construct evaluation harnesses, define measurable failure modes, test claims under perturbation, and turn speculative arguments into instruments that can be inspected, replicated, and improved.
This work extends a 25-year arc across frontier AI, quantum information, spaceflight, and frontier-technology governance: large-scale evolutionary neural-network systems at Starlab in Brussels, recognized by Guinness World Records in 2001; early quantum-technology roadmapping for senior U.S. Government leaders and agency directors under QuIST in Tokyo; graduate research on quantum entanglement at the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience and with Anton Zeilinger’s group in Austria; publications on adaptive quantum networks in the International Journal of Theoretical Physics; and next-generation spaceflight as a NASA-trained commercial astronaut.
Artificial intelligence, biotechnology, nanotechnology, neuroscience, clean energy, spaceflight, supercomputing, and quantum technologies are converging toward a civilization-scale transition. The responsibility falls on us to lead with instruments, institutions, and scientific foundations that steer that transition toward freedom, flourishing, and fulfillment.
From CAM-Brain to Cambrian 2.0:
Engineering the Next Intelligence Transition
We stand on the shores of a vast cosmic ocean, with untold continents of possibility to explore. As we continue forwards in our collective journey, scaling the cosmic ladder of evolution, progressing onwards, expanding our reach outwards in the transition to a multiplanetary species, Earth will soon be a destination, not just a point of origin.
From early childhood, I set out to convey a profound and positive impact on the long-term future of humanity—to make the world a better place for our children, our children's children, and the generations yet to come. As we're collectively propelled forwards as a species, I committed to ensuring core values of balance, integrity, and ethical responsibility are upheld with paramount importance in scientific research and principal government leadership. With unprecedented leaps and bounds of progress in our scientific understanding—enabled by the development of converging and expanding exponential technologies—newfound, unexpected discoveries await, just over the horizon.
Rapid advances in fields such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, molecular nanotechnology, neuroscience, renewable energy, spaceflight, supercomputing, and quantum technologies—each enabled by the recursive technological progress of Moore’s Law—will converge to confer radical changes to society over the coming decades, as we move forward in the collective transition toward the dawn of a post-scarcity economy. The future is unbounded. The responsibility falls upon us to ensure that its limitless potential is filled with dreams of hope, happiness, freedom, and fulfillment.
In tribute to timeless, inspiring, and visionary friend, colleague, collaborator, and coauthor Serguei Krasnikov (1961–2024), whose midnight brainstorming sessions and legendary time travel parties at Starlab will echo through the ages. May we carry forward his boldest dreams, fulfill his most audacious ambitions, and meet again—somewhere, sometime, just over the horizon.
SELECT PUBLICATIONS
- (2026) Altman, Christopher. “Detecting Intrinsic and Instrumental Self-Preservation in Autonomous Agents: The Unified Continuation-Interest Protocol.” arXiv:2603.11382. doi:10.48550/arXiv.2603.11382.
- (2026) Altman, Christopher. “Wigner’s Friend as a Circuit: Inter-Branch Communication Witness Benchmarks on Superconducting Quantum Hardware.” arXiv:2601.16004. doi:10.48550/arXiv.2601.16004.
- (2015) Altman, C.; and Zapatrin, R. “Spacetime from Quantum Topology.” In Spacetime from Quantum Topology, edited by Ignazio Licata and Cecilia Flori. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
- (2012) Altman, Christopher; Williams, C.; Ursin, Rupert; Villoresi, Paolo; and Sharma, V. “Astronaut Development and Deployment of a Secure Quantum Space Channel Prototype.” NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Phase I proposal, PISCES. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.12213.99045.
- (2010) Altman, Christopher; and Zapatrin, Roman R. “Backpropagation Training in Adaptive Quantum Networks.” International Journal of Theoretical Physics 49: 2991–2997. doi:10.1007/s10773-009-0103-1.
- (2007) Altman, Christopher; Knorring, E.; and Zapatrin, Roman R. “Accelerated Training Convergence in Superposed Quantum Networks.” NATO Advanced Study Institute on Mining Massive Data Sets for Security. doi:10.5281/zenodo.21412045.
- (2007) “Microlens Array Fabrication in Quantum Coherent Information Processing,” Kavli Institute of Nanoscience.
- (2007) “Experimental Confirmation of Bell Inequality Violations in Entangled Photon Pairs,” Kavli Institute of Nanoscience.
- (2004) Altman, Christopher; Pykacz, Jarosław; and Zapatrin, Roman R. “Superpositional Quantum Network Topologies.” International Journal of Theoretical Physics 43, no. 12: 2435–2445. doi:10.1007/s10773-004-7709-0.
- (2004) Altman, C.; and Kahaner, D. “Korean Quantum Information Research.” Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Quantum Information Science and Technology Project, Asian Technology Information Program.
- (2004) Altman, C. “Advances in Quantum Algorithms.” Quantum Information Science and Technology Program, ATIP Tokyo.
- (2004) Altman, C.; and Satoh, T. “Japanese National Research and Development Programs.” RIKEN National Laboratory, Quantum Information Science and Technology Project, Asian Technology Information Program.
- (2004) Altman, C.; and Kahaner, D. “Quantum Information Science and Technology Project.” Asian Technology Information Program.
- (2004) “Quantum Dynamics Research,” 理化学研究所 RIKEN Frontier Research Laboratory, Quantum Information Science and Technology Project, Asian Technology Information Program.
- (2004) “SOKENDAI Quantum Information Science,” The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Quantum Information Science and Technology Project, Asian Technology Information Program.
- (2004) “Quantum Algorithms Research,” 東京理科大学 Frontier Research Center, Quantum Information Science and Technology Project, Asian Technology Information Program.
- (2004) “Quantum Circuit Complexity,” Tokyo University of Electro-Communications, Quantum Information Science and Technology Project, Asian Technology Information Program.
- (2004) “Quantum R&D Programs of Japan,” Quantum Information Science and Technology Project, Asian Technology Information Program.
- (2003) Altman, C. “RIKEN Quantum Dynamics Research.” Quantum Information Science and Technology Project, Asian Technology Information Program.
- (2003) Altman, C. “SOKENDAI Quantum Information Research.” Quantum Information Science and Technology Project, Asian Technology Information Program.
- (2003) Altman, C. “Quantum Circuit Complexity Research.” Quantum Information Science and Technology Project, Asian Technology Information Program.
- (2003) “International Conference on Quantum Information,” ICQI Italy–Japan, Quantum Information Science and Technology Project, Asian Technology Information Program.
- (2003) Altman, Christopher. “Quantum State Engineering with the rf-SQUID.” NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Quantum Chaos. arXiv:quant-ph/0307101. doi:10.48550/arXiv.quant-ph/0307101.
- (2002) Altman, Christopher. “Converging Technologies: The Future of the Global Information Society.” Chair report, UNISCA First Committee on Disarmament and International Security. doi:10.5281/zenodo.21410661.
- (2002) Altman, Christopher. “Directed Evolution in Silico: Modeling Large-Scale Neural Networks at Starlab.” Toward a Science of Consciousness. doi:10.5281/zenodo.21413029.
LINKS
- Astronaut Scientists for Hire Open New Research Frontier in Space, KurzweilAI
- Astronaut Training Photos, NASA ARC/JSC, NASTAR/AGSOL, SIRIUS, Zero G
- Starlab: The Noah's Ark of Scientific Research That Launched 1,000 Startup Ideas. Sifted (Financial Times, London)
- State of the Future, live two-hour radio interview
- Keynote on the Future of Space Exploration, Mobile Monday Amsterdam
- Starlab Discovery Channel Special
- Krasnikov on Closed Timelike Curves, Life, the Universe, and Everything
- NASA Quantum AI Laboratory, NASA Ames Research Center
- Warp Drive Development, Limitless Institute
