New work argues that Hawking Radiation could carry information out of a black hole. If we are able to control the process, we could even turn a black hole into a gigantic computer. From New Scientist Space:
Nearly all of the information that falls into a black hole escapes back out, a controversial new study argues. The work suggests that black holes could one day be used as incredibly accurate quantum computers – if enormous theoretical and practical hurdles can first be overcome.
Science-fiction author Stephen Baxter uses this very idea in Exultant, the second novel in The Destiny’s Children series. He describes a massive black hole computer built by an alien species around the supermassive black hole that is believed to sit at the centre of our Milky Way galaxy.