Quantum computers have been around for a while. But due to their sheer sophistication as well as the hefty price tags, not many have been able to afford them. Now, Google and NASA have joined hands to buy a quantum computer D-Wave Two and install it at the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab.
The venture is essentially a collaboration between three entities, namely Google, NASA and Universe Space Research Association, a non-profit organization. The trio aims to explore the possibilities of machine learning with the help of the highly advanced D-Wave two quantum computer.
The only other D-Wave two quantum computer that has been sold by D-Wave was purchased by Lockheed Martin. This tells something about the costs of buying the machine. Nonetheless, the unique computing prowess that such a machine offers may be critically helpful in pushing the limits in fields such as language translation and related fields.
According to a blog post by Google, “We actually think quantum machine learning may provide the most creative problem-solving process under the known laws of physics.” The claim may be bold but is very encouraging.
Being a quantum computer, D-Wave two can speed up the computational speeds very significantly, since it relies on quantum bits for its calculations. Rather than following the gate-based logic model, quantum computer makes use of an adiabatic model, which helps the computer makes far more complicated calculations rapidly.
It remains to be seen how useful this quantum computer turns out to be in the field of machine learning. But if the likes of Google and NASA are able to steer it successfully for the stated ends, this could bring somewhat of a revolution in the arena of artificial intelligence.
Courtesy: Scientific American
[ttjad keyword=”all-in-one-desktops”]
