Google's
announcement last week that it plans to launch a new quantum computing
laboratory withNASA may have boosted a highly specialized
and slightly obscure field of study into a more mainstream light. The
search-engine giant says quantum technology will
help the company build better, more accurate search engines, and will help
advance the field of artificial intelligence.
But don't
expect your life to change dramatically.
Google
unveiled its plans this week to collaborate with NASA and the Universities
Space Research Association (USRA) to create the Quantum
Artificial Intelligence Lab. The facility, located at NASA's Ames
Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., will house a quantum computer made by D-Wave,
British Columbia-based company that sells the world's only commercial quantum
computers.
"We
believe quantum computing may help solve some of the most challenging
computer-science problems, particularly in machine learning. Machine learning
is all about building better models of the world to make more accurate
predictions. If we want to cure diseases, we need better models of how they
develop. If we want to create effective environmental policies, we need better models of what's happening to our
climate. And if we want to build a more useful search engine, we need to better
understand spoken questions and what's on the Web so you get the best answer,"
says Hartmut Neven, Google's director of engineering.
But using quantum computers to build climate
models may not be practical quite yet.
Quantum
computers hold the promise of being able to make complex calculations to
specific types of problems much faster
than regular computers can now.
Whereas
conventional computers can perform tasks extremely quickly already, their
circuits abide by the laws of classical physics, meaning they can only be in a
single state at any given time. Regular desktop and laptop computers use codes,
or bits, expressed as either a 0 or a 1.
Quantum
computers, however, are not governed by the same limitations. A quantum bit, or
qubit, can exist as a 0, 1, or both a 0 and 1 simultaneously, which is a strange
state known as superposition.
"But
quantum computing is not just a faster type of conventional computing. It's for
specific problems — it's not just taking the computers we have today and making
them a billion times faster," said Scott Aaronson, an associate professor
in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT.
Still, some
scientists question whether D-Wave's machines are fast enough, and whether they
function as true quantum computers.
One task quantum computing is particularly suited for is solving
optimization problems — which is best explained using the example of the
traveling salesman who has to visit all of his customers in a certain period of
time. Quantum computing could be used to figure out the best route, taking into
account a number of different variables, such as traffic.
In some
instances, quantum computing could also lead to advancements in the development
of superintelligent machines, or artificial
intelligence.
