I will review some progress on understanding quantum aspects of black hole dynamics using tools from quantum information theory and the AdS/CFT duality. For example, properties like the intimate connection between emergent spacetime locality and entanglement of CFT degrees of freedom, or the ability of black holes to scramble information efficiently, motivate an information theoretic approach. I will describe how simple models of information propagation give a surprisingly accurate description of black hole dynamics. For example, non-linear effects of a high-energy collision of shockwaves behind the black hole horizon can be analysed using such tools.