IF ANYONE can build quantum computers big enough, they could have a valuable talent that’s long been sought by artificial intelligence researchers. A new algorithm developed by physicists shows they should also be able to spot patterns in apparently random noise at undreamed-of speeds.
Today’s computers process data in the form of voltages representing 1s and 0s. A quantum computer, however, exploits the bizarre phenomenon of “superposition”, in which particles spin opposite ways simultaneously, to make so-called “quantum bits”, or qubits. These are essentially on and off at the same time, allowing them to be used in two calculations simultaneously. As the number of qubits increases,…
