Quantum computers of the future will have the
potential to give artificial intelligence a major boost, a series of studies
suggests. These computers, which encode information in 'fuzzy' quantum states
that can be zero and one simultaneously, have the ability to someday solve
problems, such as breaking encryption keys, that are beyond the reach of
‘classical’ computers. Algorithms developed so far for quantum computers have
typically focused on problems such as breaking encryption keys or searching a
list — tasks that normally require speed but not a lot of intelligence.
Researchers of the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology in Cambridge
have put a quantum twist on artificial intelligence. They developed a quantum
version of 'machine learning', a type of artificial intelligence in which
programs can learn from previous experience to become progressively better at
finding patterns in data. Machine learning is popular in applications ranging
from e-mail spam filters to online-shopping suggestions. The team’s invention
would take advantage of quantum computations to speed up machine-learning tasks
exponentially.
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