Abstract.
The black hole information problem is arguably the most pressing puzzle in our search for a quantum theory of gravity. It suggests a strong tension between the information-preserving nature of quantum mechanics and a perturbative quantization of general relativity. It was long believed that a complete non-perturbative theory of quantum gravity was needed to resolve the puzzle. However, using techniques inspired by the field of holography, two groundbreaking 2019 papers upended this view; this has led to new proposed solutions of the information problem, although with radical implications for the nature of spacetime. In my talk, I will review these developments from a high-level perspective, assuming only basic knowledge of QFT and gravity. I will also give a short summary of my own research on related problems.
(The slides will be available here)