  Topological quantum field theories (TQFTs) provide a general,
minimal-assumption language for describing quantum-state preparation and
measurement. They therefore provide a general language in which to express
multi-agent communication protocols, e.g. local operations, classical
communication (LOCC) protocols. Here we construct LOCC protocols using TQFT,
and show that LOCC protocols generically induce quantum error-correcting codes
(QECCs). Using multi-observer scenarios described by quantum Darwinism and
Bell/EPR experiments as examples, we show how these LOCC-induced QECCs
effectively convert entanglement into classical redundancy. In the accompanying
Part II, we show that such QECCs can be regarded as implementing, or inducing
the emergence of, spacetimes on the boundaries between interacting systems. We
investigate this connection between inter-agent communication and spacetime
using BF and Chern-Simons theories, and then using topological M-theory.
