GoKawiilAI models have been helping with predictions for a while now. Doctors, weather forecasters and stock brokers all use AI to try to peek into the future. Inside the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre in Germany, researchers have been experimenting with an AI model and a quantum computer. The quantum computer helps the AI with complex predictions it can't handle alone.
The research team from University College London, who published their findings on Friday in the journal Science Advances, say that one day, quantum computers could help AI models make fast, accurate predictions across a range of industries, which would take regular computers weeks to figure out.
"The paper demonstrates that for these kinds of studies, even today's relatively small and unreliable quantum devices can enhance the predictions of conventional AI models," Peter Coveney, UCL professor and the study's coauthor, told CNET.
Quantum computers differ from regular computers in several ways, including being able to perform simultaneous calculations rather than step-by-step calculations, and using quantum bits. While classical computers use bits as the smallest data unit, with each representing either a zero or a one, qubits can represent both zero and one simultaneously (superposition). Two qubits can also be linked together (entanglement).
Superposition and entanglement allow quantum computers to solve complex problems much faster than traditional computers. But quantum computers are incredibly delicate and must be kept at extremely low temperatures, making them impractical for everyday use.
But while today's quantum computers are still experimental and often finicky, they might help AI solve big problems that would otherwise be too complicated or time-consuming.
Quantum advantage
The AI model used in the study is housed on a supercomputer connected to the quantum computer at the research center.
The team used this setup to predict how gases and liquids in a system would move and interact over an extended period. Climate science, medicine and city engineering all use this kind of modeling.
"Our new method appears to demonstrate 'quantum advantage' in a practical way -- that is, the quantum computer outperforms what is possible through classical computing alone," coauthor Maida Wang, a PHD student at UCL, said in an announcement.
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